Merlin Advent Calendar
by Cynic Writer
Summary: Short ficlets for each day until Christmas. Only, in Camelot, Christmas is midwinter...
1. Chrismikkah

**Author's Note: **This is a Merlin Advent Calendar. It's made up by 25 short ficlets all built around a song. Today's song is _**Chrismikkah**_ by _The Friday Night Boys._

* * *

It was getting dark when Gwen came home from the castle. It was snowing, too - winter was clearly on its way. She turned to look at the snowflakes gently floating down from the sky before she opened the door and entered her home.

A sudden movement in the shadows made her flinch. She dropped the bundle of old clothes that she had been carrying and backed towards the door before the recognized the figure in front of her.

"Lancelot!" she exclaimed, surprised.

"Guinivere! I didn't mean to startle you..."

She took a few steps towards him, still shocked.

"What on earth are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

Gwen grew worried.

"Is something wrong? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to see you, before midwinter."

She blushed as he smiled at her.

"You must be more careful. The king would not be happy were he to find out that you have returned to Camelot."

"I know," Lancelot replied. "I will leave again shortly. But in the mean time... Are you not at all happy to see me again?"

Gwen stepped closer.

"Of course I am! But you didn't even say goodbye when you left the last time."

Lancelot looked down at his boots.

"I'm sorry about that. It's just - I came to realize something."

His eyes met Gwen's and he answered her question before she could ask it.

"Gwen, we can never be together. Just think about it - what sort of a life would that be? Always moving, always fighting. You deserve better."

"But I don't _want _better! I want you!"

Gwen's eyes filled with tears and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"And I want you. But it can never be."

She dried her tears and took a deep breath.

"So that is why you came? To tell me this?"

Lancelot turned around and started rummaging in a backpack.

"Actually, I came to give you this." He gave her something wrapped in cloth. "I had it made for you in one of the great cities of the south."

She unwrapped the object and found it to be a mirror with a heavy wooden frame in the shape of a heart. She looked up at Lancelot who gave her a sad smile.

"Someone as beautiful as you should be able to see their beauty."

She carefully put the mirror on the table and then surprised Lancelot by kissing him. After a moment he pulled away. They looked into each other's eyes.

"I shall remember you always," Gwen whispered, welling up again. Lancelot held her gaze and then took up his backpack. By the door he stopped and turned back to look at her.

"Think of me during midwinter."Then he disappeared into the darkness of the night.

The next morning Merlin collided with Gwen in the hallways of the castle as he was taking some clean shirts to the prince. As they both bent down to pick up the laundry, he noticed something.

"Gwen, are you allright? Your eyes look red."

She looked around to make sure no one was nearby and then leaned in and whispered to him:

"Lancelot came to see me last night."

Merlin cocked his head and looked perplexed.

"Really? Why didn't he come and see me as well, then?"

"Oh, he didn't stay long. I expect he wanted to be sure that he wasn't seen. Anyway, I should be going."

Merlin was left standing alone in the hallway.

"Weird," he told the air. Then he shrugged and headed for Arthur's chambers.


	2. That Woman's Gonna Break Your Heart

**Author's Note:** Wow, I'm glad so many of you seem to like it! Today's song is **_That woman's gonna break your heart_** by Thin Lizzy.

* * *

Arthur was looking out trough the window, hoping to catch another glimpse of Gwen who had hurried across the courtyard some time ago, when Merlin stumbled into the room.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed when he realized he had yet again dropped what he was carrying. "I swear, those stones move under my feet!"

Arthur turned to look at him and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Funny," he remarked. "They never do when _I'm _walking on them..."

"Mmm, it's a mystery," Merlin conceded. "It must be your royal presence."

"Must be. Have you by any chance seen Gwen today?" Arthur asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I think she was going to Morgana's rooms. Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with her being your true love?" Merlin snickered.

"Would you stop - saying - that!" Arthur was blushing furiously.

"But Arthur, there's nothing wrong with being in love! In fact, I think you should embrace your feelings." This was delivered with such a knowledgeable face that Arthur was forced to press his fingernails into his hands to stop himself from hitting his manservant. But before anything could happen, the door to Arthur's room slammed open.

"Merlin? Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you."

"Morgana!" Arthur exclaimed, irritated at the brutal intrusion. "I've gotten used to Merlin not knocking but I didn't expect that kind of behaviour from you."

Morgana threw him an arrogant smile before addressing Merlin.

"Merlin, I'm glad I found you. I need a favour."

"Anything."

"I lent my bracelet to lady Erin a few days ago but now I need it back and I can't find her. Would you go look for her?"

With a quick look at Arthur, who was still looking very irritated, Merlin made his mind up.

"Of course, I'll go do that right away."

Morgana smiled, relieved.

"Thank you, Merlin. I have so much to do, it's like this every year when midwinter approaches."

"Well, we mustn't keep you from your duties. Merlin, before you go - a word." Arthur smiled like wolf looking at a sheep did. But Merlin wasn't expecting what came next.

"Merlin, you do realize that just because Morgana is nice to you it doesn't mean she has any feelings for you."

"What...?! Oh, not this again, please, Arthur. I am _not _in love with her."

"Of course you're not. I am just saying that if you_ were_ in love with her she would break your heart. And that in turn would wreck your head. And, frankly, I don't think you can afford that, the state your head's in already."

Merlin looked at the door. Then he decided that it was worth it as he had a legitimate reason to leave the room. With a broad smile he said:

"Well, I'm sure Gwen will leave _your_ heart intact."

Then he walked out the door before Arthur could throw him a murderous glance.

* * *

By the way, if anyone wants to suggest a song, I'd be grateful - I have several days planned but I'm running out of ideas... :P


	3. Too Darn Hot

**Author's Note:** Today's song is _**Too Darn Hot**_ by Sammy Davis Jr, the true triple threat, RIP.

* * *

Camelot had a problem. A very serious problem.

But this time, it wasn't dark and evil magic.

It was the heating.

Morgana was standing beside a man who was kneeling in front of the fireplace in her room.

"Well?" she asked, a pearl of sweat sliding down her brow. "Can you fix it?"

The man clicked his tongue and shook his head sadly.

"Can't be done, ma'm. It's all this stone, you see. Makes the castle hot as burning iron in the summer, ma'm, and cold as ice in the winter. I can see why you wanted to warm it up a bit, ma'm, but seeing as the castle only has those two degrees of warmth, that was mighty stupid, if I may say so, ma'm."

Morgana looked bereft.

"Is there really nothing at all that you can do?"

The man gave her a calculating look.

"Well, ma'm, I suppose I could arrange for some rods of steel to lead the warmth out of the fireplace, but that would only work for so long before it started a fire somewhere. And it would be very costly, ma'm. Seeing as the castle is so very old already, it would really be more cost effective to tear the whole thing down and rebuild it using wood. I have a cousin who does that kind of thing and I bet you could get it done for a very reasonable prize by him. I could talk to him for you if you'd like, ma'm."

Morgana drew back like bitten.

"Absolutely not! There must be some way of fixing this, but as you seem to think differently, you may go. Thank you for your time."

The man took his toolbox and went to leave, but stopped.

"There is the small matter of my fee, milady…"

Morgana looked up, surprised.

"But you haven't done anything!"

"I did explain this to your servant girl, ma'm. Consultation fee, ma'm. I have told you what you can and cannot do about this problem, ma'm."

Morgana was sure she looked as weary as she felt. These craftsmen!

"Oh, all right, I'll have it sent to you."

When the man finally left, Morgana went to look for Arthur. It was true that he was more of a fighter than a thinker but perhaps a different point of view could help her find a solution. She found him and Merlin chatting to Gwen.

"Morgana!" he exclaimed as soon as he saw her. "I was just coming to look for you. Is it possible to do something about the heat? You see, it is rather unprincely to wander around in one's undershirt only."

"I know, I know," Morgana grumbled. "It's too darn hot. I was just talking to a craftsman and he basically told me that the only way to control the temperature was to rebuild the castle with wood. Can you imagine!"

"Really! Why did he think so?"

"Well, apparently it's all to do with the fact that the castle is made out of stone. In the winter it can either be cold as aice - if we don't warm it up - or hot like it is now."

"But we didn't have this problem last year, or the year before that. What has changed?"

Surprisingly, it was Gwen who answered the question.

"The population, sire. More and more people are coming to Camelot every year, and most of them live or work in the castle. And more people means more heat and more fires."

"I see." The prince eyed her thoughtfully, and she blushed.

"Well, then the solution is easy, isn't it? All we have to do is make a rota for who has to go without a fire every day." All eyes turned to Merlin, and more than one face expressed shock.

"Oh, but that's very clever! Thank you, Merlin, that is exactly what we need to do. I'll go talk to Uther right now." Morgana hurried of and left the other two still staring at Merlin.

"What?!" he finally protested. "It's not unheard of for me to have good ideas."

Arthur and Gwen burst into laughter at the exact same time.

* * *

The school I go to actually has the exact same problem. :P Only what with the economical crisis and everything our school is always freezing cold so we all look like Michelin men in the winter because we wear so many layers of clothing…


	4. The Celtic Tiger

**Author's Note: **I'm just going to start by apologizing for this ficlet. All I can say to my defence is that I was on a sugar high, it was the middle of the night and I was under a lot of stress. The song of the day is _**The Celtic Tiger **_by Ronan Hardiman (from the show _Michael Flatley's Celtic Tiger_.) Also, I apologize for this being unbeta:ed, but it's kind of hard to get it beta:ed at a moments notice.

* * *

Merlin was walking towards Arthur's rooms, whistling, when his day suddenly got much better.

"Morning, Merlin! You look good today!" This was followed by a blushing maid rushing past him.

"Oh!" Merlin stared after her, wondering if he'd heard right. Once his brain convinced him that he had, the maid was long gone.

"This seems like a nice day," he muttered to himself as he started walking again, a wide grin on his face.

When Merlin arrived in Arthur's chambers, he found the prince up and about already.

"Ah! Merlin. I think you will be glad to know that you won't be accompanying me out to the forest to hunt today. It seems you are much needed in the kitchens."

Merlin looked at Arthur, suspicious.

"I'm not really going to work in the kitchens, am I? You're going to make me muck out the stables or something, right?"

Arthur gave Merlin a surprised look and stopped fiddling with his sword for a moment.

"No, it really is the kitchens for you today. Why would I not mean that?"

"You're serious? But.. Working in the kitchens is amazing! The room is always warm, there's lot of food around - not that I would ever steal food but if it falls on the floor, who's going to want it - and there's not really much to do if you can't cook. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're not going to regret this."

One hour later, when a tsunami of soapy water washed over Merlin's hands as yet another load of dish was heaved into his wooden barrel, he announced:

"I'm regretting this. I should have known it couldn't be as good as it sound."

The surprisingly brittle-looking girl who had carried all the heavy, dirty plates Merlin was now supposed to wash smiled at him.

"Come now, Merlin. At least it's warm. You wouldn't want to be outside in this weather."

He laughed and smiled with her.

"I suppose so."

There was an awkward silence as she continued to look at him. Then she turned crimson and ran of with a swish of her apron. Merlin stared after her.

"Oh - kay?"

As he plunged his hands into the dirty water, he was vaguely aware of whispers from a corner of the room. Looking over his shoulder, he could see that all the maids were huddled together. When one of them saw him looking, she squealed, and the others soon followed suit.

_What is going on_, Merlin asked himself as he turned back to the dirty dishes. _Those girls look like they are talking about me, but they can't be. Why would they be talking about me? _Looking back towards the corner, he realized that the maids were now approaching him.

"Merlin," one of them began. "As it's going to be midwinter soon we decided that we were going to get you a gift to thank you for being so nice to us."

"Yeah," another one continued. "You always smile at us and you don't think we're stupid just because we're girls."

"And you're very sweet!" a girl from the back of the group announced, giggling.

"Oh," Merlin managed as a bundle was handed to him. "Thank you." As he looked closer, he realized that the object was a scarf, much like the ones he already owned, only green. He looked up, only to catch the girls staring at him.

"Thank you very much," he said, not quite knowing what was expected of him. "I promise I'll wear it."

There was cooing and the girl from the back cried out triumphantly:

"Didn't I say he was sweet?"

Later that day when the prince had returned to the castle and Merlin was helping him get off his armour, Arthur asked:

"So was the kitchen as wonderful as you thought it would be?"

Merlin stopped for a moment and peeked at the new green scarf gracing his neck with its presence.

"It was… Interesting."

* * *

As I said, sorry! And if anyone wants to suggest future songs, I would be very grateful. :)


	5. Walk

**Author's Note: **Today's song is _**Walk**_ by the Australian band JET. I'm sorry I'm posting this ficlet so late in the day but I have the best excuse ever - I was visiting my mother in the hospital. I would also like to thank Alice I for beta:ing with the speed of light.

* * *

Midwinter was approaching fast, and the king of Camelot was troubled. He had made it a habit to look back on the achievements of the past year at the end of it, and this year, there were some things he'd rather not remember.

So, what had happened this year? Nothing much in the spring, springtime was almost always event-less. Then under the command of the resurrected Cornelius Sigan those monsters of stone had started attacking Camelot, killing or injuring many of the knights, among them Arthur. After that, there was the tournament during which two of Camelot's finest knights died mysteriously. Not long after the tournament, lady Morgana was abducted by the druids.

Well, at least some good had come of that - the men had, under Arthur's command, managed to find the druid's camp and those of the lawless who didn't die, fled.

Uther sighed. There was no point in trying to avoid it because eventually, he would have to think about the fact that he had married a troll. A greedy, stinking troll. And he hadn't _just_ married it. He had kissed it. He had defended it. He had tried to make it queen.

Thinking about it made him feel queasy. It was a very good thing indeed that not one of the nobles invited to congratulate him on his marriage had had time to set off before the troll was killed. As it was, they all thought that the new queen had died tragically of a childhood ailment. Uther was, officially, a widower - again.

Unfortunately, the incident with the troll queen wasn't the only bad one this year. Uther would never forget the look on Arthur's face when the boy was threatening to kill him. He knew all too well that he had made a mistake, all those years ago, and he hoped to God his son would never be persuaded to believe in the true story.

There was one good thing that had happened recently, though. The new peace treaty was Uther's pride and glory. He had worked so very hard for it. He hoped it would be the one thing he was to be remembered by in times to come. It was that, or the good deed he had done after his wife had died by forbidding the use of magic. Well, either of those things would do just fine - as long as he wasn't remembered as the king who married a troll, Uther would be happy.

Thinking about that _thing_ again made him restless. He decided that he would make an exception and practice his shooting. Damn the old war wounds. Today, he would imagine a troll's head in the place of the target.


	6. Unforgiven

**Author's Note: **_**Unforgiven **_by Apocalyptica today. Check it out, I love it. Thanks again to Alice I for beta.

* * *

It was the middle of the night. The moonlight was reflected by snow crystals everywhere. Everyone was asleep. Everyone - except Merlin.

The great Dragon had been calling his name for hours, now. It just wouldn't give up. Merlin was laying on his bed in fetal position, cradling his head. Inside it, the voice was getting stronger yet.

_**Merlin. Merlin! You will come to me, sooner or later. **_

Merlin frowned. He was tired of waking up in the middle of the night, just to listen to some mysterious rant that didn't make any sense. He was being worked hard enough as it was, he deserved a good night's sleep.

_**MERLIN! You must come to me!**_

This time, he wasn't yielding. He was going to stay in bed and try to sleep. Eventually, the Dragon would get tired. Or maybe he would get so tired that he fell asleep despite the roars inside his head.

Probably not.

Ever since the crystal was stolen and returned, the Dragon had gotten more insistent. It had taken to waking Merlin up every night with its cajoling. He knew very well what it wanted - freedom. But there was no way he was releasing it after the things he had seen in the crystal.

_**Merlin! You made a promise and I will hold you to it!**_

He had not forgiven it for tricking him into sacrificing his mother's life, either. Much time had passed since then, but he would never forget that. Merlin guarded this memory because it helped him remember that the Dragon cared for no one but itself. It hadn't been the least bothered when Gaius was facing the threat of execution. He could not trust it.

_**MERLIN! I know you can hear me! Come to me!**_

Merlin had had enough. He lifted his head and _thought_ the way he had only done before when Mordred first came to Camelot.

_**I will set you free. But not just yet. Certainly not tonight, so you can stop shouting.**_

He could almost feel the Dragon's rage.

_**When? When, if not now? I have been captive for far too long already.**_

Merlin felt frustrated. There was not one good answer he could give.

_**Just… Not yet, all right? I can't take that risk right now.**_

Whatever he had seen in the crystal, the Dragon was definitely a part of it. He had promised to release it so he would have to do that, eventually, but he would stall as long as he could.

The Dragon seemed to have accepted the fact that it was not going to be freed this night. With a disappointed hiss, it settled into silence. Merlin did the same with a sigh of relief. Perhaps he could finally get some sleep…

The morning arrived far too fast for Merlin's liking and he found he had overslept - again. Arthur would not be pleased. Merlin hurried towards the prince's rooms without breakfast. Just as he was speeding around a corner, he heard the very thing that he had, after countless sleepless nights, learned to hate.

"Merlin. Merlin!"

He winced and slowed down.

"I'm here, sire."

Arthur was staring at him, looking very angry indeed.

"Merlin, where the hell have you been?!"

The volume and the berating use of his name made Merlin's head hurt, so he wasn't really thinking when he blurted out:

"I overslept, all right? I'm sorry, but could you _please _not shout like that?"

Arthur did not abandon the death stare, but understanding dawned on his face.

"Oh, I see. Been hitting the wine, have we? Well, Merlin, that just won't do."

Merlin stared at the prince blankly until his headache subsided enough for him to process the last comment.

"Oh, no, I just have a bit of a headache - I haven't been drinking, I swear!"

Arthur was eyeing him coldly but the death stare was gone.

"Well, I'll let it slip this time, but make sure it doesn't happen again." The prince paused for effect. "Ever."

He turned to leave and Merlin followed him, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, sire."


	7. Under the Moon

**Author's Note: **Today we will be listening to a lovely 20's tune,** _Under the Moon_** by Radio Imps. Just warning you in advance: this story line will be continued tomorrow, I couldn't possibly fit it all into one day. Beta:ed by Alice I.

**_Warning! This ficlet is rated M!_**

* * *

It was getting dark, and Merlin was cleaning Arthur's boots when the warning bells started ringing. He sighed deeply and got up. It seemed like the warning bells rang at least once a month, these days. And it was always some mythical creature that caused the upheaval, never just an ordinary wild beast.

He followed the crowd and that lead him to the market place, where a child lay on the ground, dead. The little boy's neck had been ripped open by strong jaws and there was blood all over his clothes. The guards were trying to keep the people away and Gaius was comforting the mother nearby. She had blood on her, too.

The guards recognized Merlin as Gaius' apprentice and let him trough, so he went over to where Arthur was examining some footprints in the snow.

"What do you think it was?" Merlin asked, him.

Arthur looked up, but didn't have time to answer before the king stormed in and asked the same thing. Arthur got up.

"The mother says it was a wolf, but the paw marks it left were much bigger than those of any I've ever seen. Must be one hell of a wolf."

"You are sure it's _just_ a wolf?"

Arthur hesitated. "Well, I can't be absolutely sure until I see it for myself, but I would say so, yes."

"I see." Uther looked around at the destruction - several wooden stands had been pushed over - and his eyes fell on the crying mother. "It has tasted human flesh. Send out a search party. It must be killed before it can attack again."

"Yes, father."

Arthur headed back to the castle and Merlin stayed back to talk to Gaius, who was taking the mother back to his chambers to treat her for shock.

"How is she?" Merlin asked, Gaius quietly.

"Well, she is shocked, but apart from a light grazing on her hand, she isn't hurt. I'll give her something to calm her down and then take her to her husband."

"All right, tell me if you need me."

As Merlin went to look for Arthur, his thoughts went to Freya. The attack reminded him of her, but he didn't like admitting this to himself. He wanted to remember her as a troubled but wonderful person, not a bloodthirsty monster.

He found Arthur in his chambers, getting ready for the hunt.

"Ah, Merlin. Just in time - to fasten my belt."

"Sorry, I was talking to Gaius."

Arthur fastened his belt himself and then gave Merlin a very serious look. "How is the mother of the child doing?"

"She shocked, but fine otherwise. Gaius is taking care of her."

Arthur nodded and threw Merlin a spear. "You're coming with us. Now, let's get a move on. The search party found fresh tracks not far outside the city."

Merlin looked at the weapon in his hand uncomfortably. He still didn't know quite what to do with these things. "But it's almost night already! How will we find it in the dark?"

Arthur gave him a look that clearly said that he thought Merlin was being more of an idiot than usual.

"We'll have torches. All the better to frighten the wolf with."

"I just think it would be better if we waited until the morning."

Arthur smiled cruelly. "Merlin, if you're afraid of the dark, just say so."

Merlin frowned and took a better hold of his spear. "I'm not afraid of the dark, it's the dark with a great big wolf somewhere in it that worries me."

Despite the dark, it was relatively easy to follow the marks in the combined light of the moon and the torches. Soon, they were closing in on the animal - they found tracks that hadn't been snowed in. The men were quiet and alert, but it didn't help the one that happened to be left behind because he was tying a bootlace. The others heard his sreams and turned around so fast that the man closest to where the screams came from had time to get up his spear before the wolf jumped on him. It didn't save him.

By Arthur's orders they retreated and raised their weapons. A man who was carrying bow and arrow was ordered to take a shot at the beast but he must have missed because it didn't even stop as it came at them.

"Spears!" Arthur roared, and a brave man jumped forwards and hit the wolf square in the chest. But something was wrong. The spear just bounced off the creature's fur.

Arthur's eyes became large with surprise before he made a decisive leap towards the wolf and threw his spear at it so hard that it shattered against the animal's side. Arthur drew back and looked at the broken wood with horror.

"What is this thing?!"　  
　

Back in Camelot, Gaius was walking the mother of the dead boy to her home. She was sobbing quietly now, but earlier she had been wailing. He kept his arm around her as he guided her through the empty streets. When he opened the door to her house and she fell into her husband's open arms, the sobs turned into a soft growl. Gaius stayed back discreetly but he didn't want to leave just yet. He had something to say. As the woman's arms curled around her husband's back, the physician cleared his throat and said, "I am very sorry for your loss. I -"

He was interrupted by a deep growl coming from the throat of the woman. The moonlight shining in trough a small window revealed that her incisors where inhumanly sharp as she bared her teeth and lovingly bent her husbands head to the side.

"But that is impossible," Gaius muttered to himself, fascinated, as he saw the woman sink her teeth into her husband's throat and give him a carless shake. Then she turned to look at him, smiling with her bloodied mouth, and he snapped out of it.

"Guards!"

* * *

Stay tuned… ;)


	8. Mistletoe and Wine

**Author's Note:** And the story continues, accompanied by Cliff Richard's** _Mistletoe and Wine_**. Thanks to Alice I once again for her incredibly fast beta.

* * *

Merlin and a hunter stumbled into the court physician's chamber, each supporting an injured man. Gaius, who had been examining a liquid in a glass vial, hurried to their side.

"What happened?"

"The wolf," Merlin panted. "It was no ordinary wolf, our weapons couldn't hurt it!"

Gaius paled visibly when he saw a scratch on Merlin's neck. He grabbed the warlock's shoulders and asked, "Did it bite you?"

Merlin followed his eyes. "No, that must be from a branch. We were in a bit of a hurry on our way back."

But Gaius did not relax. "Did it bite Arthur or anyone else other than these two?"

Merlin frowned. "No, why do you ask? Is something wrong?"

Gaius didn't answer him, instead, he called for the guards. They arrived so fast that they must have been nearby.

"These two have been infected," Gaius said, pointing to the two injured men. "Take them to the cells."

The guards grabbed the men despite their protest and dragged them off. Merlin turned to Gaius. "What is going on?"

"Merlin - those wolf bites are no more ordinary than the beast itself. The mother of the child who died got scratched by its teeth. She seemed perfectly fine until I took her home to her husband. Then she… It was most strange, her teeth became sharper and she started growling - and she bit her husband, Merlin. She killed her own husband. We had to imprison her; she was completely crazed with bloodthirst. And I fear this is what will happen to those two men also."

The hunter who had helped one of the men walk joined the conversation. "The taller one is my mate John. Do you mean to say that he's been turned into something else?"

Gaius turned to give the man a sad look. "Yes. And so far, we have no idea how to reverse it."

Merlin reached for a book with a determined face. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's start looking."

Gaius gave Merlin a worried look. Then he led the hunter out of the room and told him to get some rest. After he'd closed the door behind the confused man, he turned back to Merlin and said, "Merlin, I have been going over those books ever since I found out about the effects of the wolf bite, but so far, I haven't found a thing. And time is running out. You said you couldn't kill the creature, and I believe it might be looking for more people to bite. I think it is time to ask someone who must know."

With a sigh, Merlin headed for the dungeons that lead to the cave, not even bothering to reply. Somehow, he had known this was going to happen sooner or later.

The Dragon seemed decidedly more interested than worried, as per usual. At least it wasn't laughing. That was always something.

"It hasn't bitten Arthur, has it?" it asked.

"No, at least, not yet."

"You must make sure it doesn't. This thing is a werewolf. It is human most of the time but in the night, it changes into a wolf. It is stronger during moonlight. Its bite changes people into something not quite like it, but similar. You must make sure Arthur is not bitten. If he were to turn into a monster, you would not be able to fulfill your destiny."

"Yeah, okay, I'll try to keep the great big wolf that can't be killed from biting Arthur. Any tips on how to do that?"

"Mistletoe is lethal to werewolves. Even diluted, it has a great power over them. Use this knowledge to your advantage."

Merlin nodded and left the cave. He had some weeding to do.

**　

Less than half an hour later, some rather unlikely heroes returned to the castle. A woman who usually sold flowers in the street had been escorted by some farmers with pitchforks to get as much of the plant as possible. Lucky for them, they had seen no sign of the werewolf.

"Good," Gaius, who was organizing things, shouted to the citizens of Camelot. "Take a little each and drape it over your doors, and the windows, too, if there is enough. Merlin will need this lot." He pointed to a particularly big heap. Merlin, who had been talking urgently to Gwen, rushed forward and divided the heap into two parts. He gave the smaller heap to Gwen and sat down beside the larger one.

The knights were outside Camelot, driving the beast towards the city using fire. It seemed angry, and repeatedly reached for the closest man, but the knights had been warned and were careful not to get bitten. Arthur, who was once again in charge, was relieved that the thing seemed to be afraid of fire. Otherwise, he would not have known how to drive it into the city.

They drove it towards the town square, thrusting torches at it to make it go where they wanted it to go. Finally, it was positioned under the balcony. They were all careful not to look up. There was no telling how intelligent the werewolf was.

Suddenly a net made of mistletoe fell on the wolf from above, and a few seconds after that, Gwen leaned over the railings to pour a bucketful of liquid over it. She and Merlin leaned over the stone wall to look down at the monster.

The werewolf was screaming like a human. It stood up on two legs and started glowing with a silvery shine. The shape under the net was now distinctly human. It let out a last, tortured scream before dissolving into light.

Down in the courtyard, Arthur relaxed and looked at the net and liquid lying on the ground.

"Mistletoe, huh. Who would have thought.

**

The king ordered a feast in order to celebrate that the werewolf had been killed. Everyone was gathered in the great hall, eating good food and drinking wine. Then the king stood up to give a speech.

"Friends! A great evil has been warded off today. Our knights, led by my son, were brave enough to face a monster, and with the knowledge of my physician, we managed to defeat the creature. But we must remember that there are still evil things that would destroy Camelot if they could. We must be vigilant. In order for us all to remember that, I decree that mistletoe must be hung in doorways and windows every midwinter from now on. Now, let the celebrations continue!"

Merlin exchanged a look with Gwen, beside whom he was standing.

"No mention of our hard work with making that net out of the mistletoe and distilling the oil of it, I notice," he muttered.

Gwen smiled at him.

"Well, we are only servants, after all." She went of to pour more wine into Morgana's goblet.

* * *

And that's why we hang up mistletoe these days. ;) I actually got the idea from an episode of Doctor Who, kudos if you know which one.


	9. What's this?

**Author's Note: **Sorry for posting this so late in the day, I got vaccinated yesterday and I'm still feeling the effects. Today's song is _**What's this?**_ from Nightmare Before Christmas. Beta by Alice I.

* * *

Merlin was out in the woods surrounding Camelot, picking up wood for a seamstress who had fallen ill. Gaius was treating her, but she was all alone with a baby to feed, so she needed all the help she could get.

Just as he was reaching for another snow-covered branch, a voice he recognized called out his name.

"Merlin!"

He spun around and faced his friend.

"Lancelot!"

They both had great big smiles on their faces and they stepped towards each other for a quick, manly hug.

"What are you doing here?" Merlin asked, once they had released each other. "I thought you went away again once you'd seen Gwen?"

"I was going to, but I hadn't seen you and it wasn't as if I was in a hurry to be somewhere. Come, I've set up a camp not far from here, we can talk." They set off in the ankle-deep snow.

**

About fifteen minutes later, they were trudging uphill when Merlin stopped to breath.

"I thought you said it was close," he said, accusingly once he had got his breath back.

"It is," Lancelot replied. "As close as I dare stay to the city lest anyone see me."

Merlin gave him a thoughtful look.

"But would it really be so bad if anyone found out? After all, you weren't banished. You left of your own free will."

"Merlin, if Arthur hadn't objected, I would have been. It can't have been easy for him to argue with his father and I will not ask him to do so a second time."

"Hmm," Merlin nodded. Then he spotted something among the trees. "Is that your camp?"

"Yes."

The camp consisted of a blanket hung over a branch and held down with stones, a circle of stones within which a fire could be lit, an a long, black scorch mark along the improvised tent.

"What's that?" Merlin asked, pointing at the black streak.

"During the evenings I dry a small tree trunk by the fire, and when night falls, I put it beside the tent and set it on fire. It keeps me nice and warm all night long."

"Clever," Merlin grinned and sat down on a stone by the fireplace. Lancelot bent down to make a fire.

"So," Merlin said, in a conversational tone. "Gwen didn't say much about your visit."

"There wouldn't have been much to tell. I only stayed a short while."

"Mmm, she did say that," Merlin said, rubbing his hands to keep them warm. "She didn't tell me how she reacted, though. She must have been happy to see you again."

Lancelot had got the fire started and was feeding it some thin branches.

"She was somewhat upset, and rightfully so," he muttered. "I should have said a proper goodbye before leaving."

"Yeah… But you made it up to her now, didn't you?" If Merlin had been watching Lancelot he would have noticed that the other man was blushing.

"I think she forgave me. I gave her something and she accepted my gift."

"Well, that's good! Very midwintery, too."

Lancelot gave Merlin an amused look. "Midwintery?"

"You know. Giving presents."

Lancelot was still looking amused. "Presents? What does that have to do with midwinter?"

Merlin looked horrified. "What? Don't people exchange presents at midwinter where you come from?"

"No. Why would they?" Lancelot answered, nonplussed.

Merlin opened his eyes wide in shock. "To celebrate that half the winter has passed and it will be spring again soon, of course!"

"No, we never did that." Lancelot shrugged.

"Really? No stockings on the fireplace?"

Now it was Lancelot's turn to look surprised. "Stockings on the fireplace? Why?"

"To put the presents in. And no decorated tree? No songs?"

Lancelot was smiling at the enthusiastic fervor of his young friend. "What songs would that be?"

" 'Midwinter cheer'? 'White world'? "Good child, bad child'?"

The smile turned into a bemused chickle. "What on earth is that?"

"Oh, it's just a children's story. When I was younger my mother told me that there were elves who came with presents for the good kids and put nasty things in your stocking if you've been bad. But really, it was just my mother who put the things there when she thought I was sleeping."

Lancelot laughed out loud now. "Well, did you get nice or nasty things?"

"Me? I was a very good boy, I'll have you know. Some of the neighbours might not agree, but I was, really. My friend Will was much worse. Of course, our presents were mostly made by their givers. This one year, my mother got a lantern carved out of wood. It was given to her by the village carpenter and it had slits that were made out to look like the lantern had a smiling face! It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. We lit it every year when it started getting darker in the evenings. Of course, things are different in Camelot. Uther had three new dresses made for Morgana last year, and Arthur got a horse complete with saddle and everything."

"They _are _part of the royal family, I expect their gifts must reach a certain standard."

"Yeah. But really, you've never actually celebrated midwinter?"

Lancelot shrugged again. "No. I suppose it just wasn't such a big thing for us."

Merlin looked around and spotted a spruce. "Well, you have the right kind of tree, at least. You could decorate it. I could help you!"

"I appreciate the thought, but don't you think a decorated tree might draw some attention? No, I'll not start celebrating midwinter this year. Maybe things will be different next year, who knows?"

Merlin sighed and looked up at the sun.

"Well, I had better get back."

"Yes, of course. I'll keep you company until we are too close to the city. Let me just put some snow on the fire."

Merlin watched Lancelot do just that as he wondered how to phrase his question.

"Lancelot, how long will you be staying?"

"I'm not quite sure. I suppose I'll need to decide where to go first."

**

The next day, when Lancelot came back to his little camp with a rabbit he had snared, he spotted something hanging from his tent. As he walked closer he could see that it was a stocking. Inside it was a piece of ham, some carrots, a letter from Gwen and a note from Merlin. It said:

_I thought one year seemed a very long time to wait, so here's an early midwinter gift for you. I asked if Gwen wanted to send any greetings and she had so much to say she wrote her own letter. Happy Midwinter._

_Merlin_

Lancelot laughed quietly and looked towards the castle.

"Thank you, Merlin."

* * *

Here's an interesting fact: in the late 19th Century, quite a lot of women who were registered as seamstresses were actually working as prostitutes. And by the way, well done all who remembered the Doctor Who episode! :D


	10. Lover Man

**Author's Note:** Today's song is** _Lover Man_** by Ella Fitzgerald. And I just wanted to point out that I don't own any of this. If I did… Well, some episodes would be strategically different. Beta by Alice I, once again.

* * *

Warm sheets. Warm pillow. Moonlight in his eyes. Sounds seeping in from the window leading to the courtyard.

Merlin couldn't sleep. He had been tossing and turning for hours now.

_One day, Merlin, I will repay you. I promise._

He had been thinking about her lately. Freya. The one person who had truly understood him. She had been so scared, and then so careful not to hope for too much. And so very beautiful, even as a winged cat.

Merlin sat up. Clearly, he wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon. He walked to the window and looked out. The shadows of the courtyard were accentuated by the moonlight. Unthinkingly, Merlin pulled on his boots and walked quietly out the door and trough the room in which Gaius was sleeping. Unlike most times he did this, he didn't push anything off the table or trip on anything. As he closed the second door behind him, he threw a quick glance at Gaius to make sure he was asleep. Then he walked trough the silent city, softening the sound of his steps with magic whenever he needed to.

He hadn't thought about where he was going, but once his feet found the path to the lake by which he had left Freya he turned on to it. He slowed down when he started seeing the water between the trees. Then it was before him, the water shining with the silver it was reflecting of the moonlight.

He sat down on the little beach and looked out at the mountains. This was the last place she had seen. He hoped it had made death easier for her. Maybe it felt like coming home. A sharp pained stabbed him as he thought of how he had sent her towards the mountains in a boat.

_Where will we go?_

_Somewhere with mountains…_

_A few fields…_

_Wildflowers…_

_A couple of cows…_

_And a lake._

He sat there unmoving, remembering. If a silent tear or two slipped down his cheeks, he did not notice.

_There must be something I can do, some way to save you!_

_You've already saved me. You made me feel loved._

**

Merlin blinked when the sunlight shone into his eyes. He looked around and realized that he could hear birds singing. He had sat there the whole night. He blinked again and felt the salt on his eyelashes crunch.

He got up and took a last look at the lake.

"I miss you," he said.

Then he turned around and started walking back to the castle. He had a long day ahead of him.


	11. Opus 17

**Author's Note: **Hello again. Today's piece of music is _**Opus 17 **_by Dustin O'Halloran. This story is kind of a collaboration. You see, it seems I can only write depressing endings at the moment and that gets rather annoying after a while, so Alice I helped me out with that as well as the beta. I would like to thank her very much for that!

By the way, this ficlet is rated T.

* * *

It was one of those sunny winter mornings when the white snow made the world seem even brighter. The air was crisp and pleasantly cool. Arthur looked out over a field of snow with his eyes half closed against the light. The other hunters were also starting to wake up and get out of their tents, and as he could smell burning wood, he knew he would get a cup of tea if he turned around and walked back to the camp. But at the moment, he just wanted to enjoy the view.

They were high up in the mountains, amongst the snow covered peaks in a flat plateau between two peaks. The view from this vantage overlooked the valley that Camelot was a part of. Far below, Arthur could see a lake, covered in ice. The ground he was standing on was leading up towards the top of the mountain. Everywhere he looked, he saw snow, sometimes interrupted by a rock that the wind had swept bare. It was quite unlike Camelot, but still very beautiful.

Arthur heard someone come walking towards him, the snow making a peculiar sound every time a shoe ground against it. A slight breeze brought the familiar smell of herbs and the footsteps stopped. Arthur turned around and saw Merlin standing there with a mug in each hand.

"Here," Merlin said, as he gave one of the wooden mugs to Arthur. "Your tea's getting cold."

"Thanks." Arthur closed his fingers around the mug, grateful for the warmth.

"It looks so small, doesn't it," Merlin said, looking at the lake. Arthur peeked at him and recognized the sad look that had been appearing on his servant's face every now and then. He didn't know what made Merlin so sad at times, but he didn't like it. It was such a difference to how he normally was.

"Come on, let's get back," Arthur said in a not unkind way.

They walked back to the camp in silence. When they got back, Arthur gathered his weapons and Merlin packed a rucksack. Then they left the camp again, greeting the other hunters who were still eating breakfast on their way out.

They had been up in the mountains for several days now. They would have to leave in a few days time whether they had caught anything or not, and Arthur was anxious to check the traps he had set on their first day here. If he didn't get anything, no one at the court would be surprised, or even disappointed, because whatever was caught here was destined for only one person. The king.

Getting his father a midwinter gift was becoming harder every year. What did a prince get for the king? It had to be precious, and it had to be something a son would give to his father. The fact that Arthur was a good hunter didn't make it easier, because it meant that the thought didn't matter as much as the result. Every year, he had to come up with an outstanding gift. And this year, his only idea had been to climb the mountain to catch one of the white foxes that lived here. Their fur was rare and very expensive because they were so hard to catch, and also because it was so beautiful. It would look good lacing his father's tunic.

They had reached the first trap, which was as empty as it had been the previous three days. Arthur sighed and didn't even stop as he changed his course towards the next trap. It was quite a long way from the first one, and it, too, was empty. This time Arthur bent down to check that it was still working.

"These bloody foxes," he exclaimed. "Look at these marks! One of them walked right up to it, took a good look and wandered away again. How are you supposed to catch them if they are clever enough to avoid the traps?"

Merlin was trying not to smile, but it was hard: the prince of Camelot was being outfoxed by, well, _foxes_.

"I don't know, sire. Maybe we should check the other two?"

"No, Merlin. _You_ will check the traps. I'll follow the marks this one left."

They went their separate ways, and when Merlin had confirmed that the last two traps were empty as well, he turned back and followed the footprints Arthur had left beside the whites fox's small, neat paw prints. After several hours he saw the prince lying flat on his stomach. Merlin had had the rules of hunting banged into his head enough times after he had inadvertedly broken them, so instead of running or calling out, he kept walking quietly and finally dropped and crawled up to Arthur. Then he followed Arthur's gaze.

At first, he didn't see anything. There was just snow and shadows. Then something moved and Merlin could suddenly see that what had looked like just another gathering of snow against a rock was actually a small fox that blended in with the snow perfectly thanks to its gleaming white fur. The movement he had spotted was a swift flick of the tail, but after that, the fox was, once again, unmoving. Merlin had to take a deep breath when he realized the animal was sleeping.

Beside him, Arthur was raising his crossbow slowly. Before he could consider the effects of his actions, Merlin raised a hand and put it on the weapon.

"It's sleeping!" he mimed to Arthur, who just gave him a look and moved the bow.

"You can't kill it in its sleep," Merlin mimed, but Arthur clearly couldn't understand him because he just brushed Merlin's hand off the crossbow and took aim. There was a swish and a surprised sound from the fox as the arrow hit it in the neck.

Arthur flew up and rushed towards the dying animal, laughing.

"I finally got you, you little devil!" he rejoiced.

Merlin followed at a slower pace.

"But Arthur, that wasn't a fair kill," he protested. "The fox had no chance, it was asleep!"

"Well, would you rather I had let it go? We've been here for days and we haven't even glimpsed one before now. Who knows when I'd have got another shot."

Merlin bent down and looked the little fox in the eyes. It was frightened and in pain, he could tell. "I know, I just don't think it's right."

With a look at Merlin, Arthur decided that it was best to end the animal's suffering as fast as possible. He pulled out a knife and cut its throat with one swift movement.

"Merlin, you shouldn't think so much, you know it isn't good for you. Anyway, you might want to go get a fire going and make some tea. I'll have to skin it now and I'm sure you won't want to watch."

He was right. Merlin did as Arthur said and tried to avoid looking at the bloody remains as he brought him some tea. When Arthur was ready and had the fur all wrapped up, Merlin offered to carry to crossbow instead of the fur.

Back in the camp, Arthur spread out the skin of the fox for the admiration of the other hunters. They all came up to stroke it with their fingers and commented on what a fine individual the prince had been lucky enough to find.

"Merlin," Arthur called, proud of his catch. "Come and feel it! Do you think it's fit for a king?"

Merlin reluctantly traced the soft white fur with a finger. Arthur had tried to wash the blood off with snow, but there were still a few rust brown streaks that would probably have to be discarded when the skin was sown on to a garment. Merlin thought of all Uther had done since he was crowned king, and sighed sadly. A bloodied fur for a king who had let the blood flow.

"Yes, Arthur, it is very fitting."

That sad look crept back into Merlin's eyes as he turned away from the prince and the other hunters still admiring the fur. Merlin silently walked out of camp and back up to the ledge that looked out over the valley and the kingdom of Camelot. The young man had no desire to sit around watching the hunters talk about their kills. He didn't blame them for hunting, he understood the necessity, but all he could think of were the terrified eyes of the fox. They reminded him of another set of terrified eyes. Eyes that haunted his dreams and rested heavily in his heart.

The cold wind buffeted against the solitary figure standing alone in the midday sun. The icy lake far below shimmered in its brightness.

"You would have loved this view, Freya."

A tear ran down the young man's face and left a frozen track on the skin. He knew he should go back and prepare some lunch for Arthur. He would be hungry and want to eat before they headed back to Camelot, but his heart was so heavy that his feet stayed planted to the spot as fresh tears wells up.

Arthur noticed the direction that Merlin had left and went looking for him after a half an hour had past. He got within 20 yards of the young man and stopped. Merlin's shoulders were slumped and he stood so still looking out over the valley as a palpable sense of melancholy hung around him. Arthur wanted to know why Merlin was so sad, but he couldn't bring himself to ask again.

For today he tried to assume that Merlin was just acting like a girl over the death of the fox, but deep down he knew it was more than that. He just wished Merlin trusted him enough to talk about what was really bothering him. Arthur sighed and turned so that he was shouting over his shoulder. He didn't want Merlin to realize that he had been observing him.

"Merlin! Come on, or have you frozen to that spot?"

Merlin turned toward Arthur abruptly and ducked his face. Arthur could swear he saw the boy wipe his eyes before he trotted back down the slight slope that lead back to camp. By the time he reached Arthur the young man looked completely relaxed.

"I'll heat up some broth if you're done congratulating yourself on your hunting prowess." Merlin said, as he past by the prince.

Arthur shook his head and opened his mouth to object when he heard Merlin comment under his breath, "Never mind the animal was asleep at the time."

"I heard that, _Mer_lin!"

Merlin moved just a little more quickly hoping to avoid Arthur's slap, or punch in the arm, or what ever retribution he had planned. What he didn't expect was to be hit solidly in the back of the head with a wet cold snow ball. Merlin stopped and turned around to face a very pleased looking Arthur as wet snow dripped down the back of his shirt.

Laughing Arthur said, "Well at least you weren't sleeping."

That was all it took for Merlin to reach down and scoop up a handful of snow himself and fling it at Arthur, completely missing his mark. The snowball fight had officially begun as Arthur once again threw a hard packed snow ball at Merlin. This time, however, Merlin saw it coming and was able to duck out of the way causing the snow ball to sail far past the servant and land solidly on the exposed back of one of the other hunters. This in turn started more snow balls flying through the air and within a few minutes the entire camp was involved.

As Arthur threw another volly at Merlin and two of the other hunters his smile grew even wider because he could see the big goofy grin he was more accustomed to seeing on the face of his servant. All was right with the world at least for the next few minutes.


	12. Graveyard Girl

**Author's Notes: **Today we'll be listening to _**Graveyard Girl **_by M83. Beta by Alice I.

* * *

Morgana lifted the trail of her dress and straightened it over the sides of her horse. She gave Uther, who was standing on the stairs watching her, a cold but polite smile.

"I will not be very long," she assured him. "I will definitely be back before nightfall."

"Make sure you are," Uther replied. His tone of voice was also polite but it had an edge to it. He hadn't quite trusted Morgana since she had answered back to him after the incident with the man who had stolen the crystal. Morgana nodded but didn't deign to answer. She kicked her horse in the sides and left the city without any further goodbyes. Uther looked after her a moment before he went inside, shaking his head. He had heard that children of that age always were difficult, but Morgana was in a class of her own.

Morgana stared straight ahead and didn't talk to the guards who were meant to ensure that she was safe. She was travelling to her father's grave and both she and Uther remembered what had happened there last time all too well. Of course, Uther had no idea of the role she had played in the attempt on his life back then. To him, she had been the plucky girl who rescued were different now. He didn't trust her, that was for sure. But it didn't matter to her, not anymore. She had finally realized that he would execute her if he knew what she was, just like he had killed everyone like her. He would never change. If things were to get better for those who used magic, she had to do something.

She just didn't quite know what that something was.

She was hoping that seeing her father's grave would give her an idea. She had always felt better after visiting it, like he was somehow there in spririt to give her affection and advice. She did not like to think about whether he would have approved of her plans, however. After all, he and Uther had been close friends when he was alive. She wanted to believe that he would have seen things from her point of view, but in her heart of hearts she knew he would have wanted her to argue with words rather than turn to violence.

Morgana sighed. Ever since she had seen Mordred again, she hadn't slept quite as well as before. Sometimes she woke up remembering feelings, mostly fear and loss. She had considered putting Morgause's bracelet away and letting the dreams come, but it was such a relief to be able to sleep even moderately well after all those years of nightmares. Not once had she had a good dream that had come true. Morgana thought to herself that if all she ever were to know about the future was that it was filled with fear, loss and pain, she would go mad. She put one hand over the bracelet protectively. She would not take it off. Not yet, at least.

They were getting close to the hill on which her father was buried, so she slid off her horse and asked the guards to stay behind and take care of it. They agreed reluctantly, and she was gone almost before they finished.

She took her time, walking up the hill - it wasn't as if he was going anywhere. Now that it wasn't covered by grass but snow, the landscape looked much more alive. There were animal tracks all over and Morgana smiled at the thought of all these little furry creatures keeping her father company. She looked higher up and saw the rune stone that commemorated her father. The runes that told a short summary of his life and death shone red against the snow. Morgana stopped in front of the stone and pulled her hood back. Then she leaned forward to brush snow off where it had clung to the carvings.

She wished he could have lived longer. Things might have been different then. She would not have a debt of gratitude to Uther. She would probably never have met Mordred, or Alvarr. Morgana sighed and brushed some snow off the ground below the rune stone so she could sit down there. She traced the carvings absentmindedly with a finger. This place felt very peaceful, despite all the violent action that had occurred wished she could just stay here for ever, sitting in an embrace from behind death. She wouldn't have to worry about taking a stand and breaking laws, she could just sit and watch the seasons change. When she slept, Morgause's bracelet would protect her from any unpleasant dreams, and she could befriend the animals that lived here.

Then she remembered Mordred, Gwen, all the people who still mattered to her. She got up and stood back to look at all that was left of her father one last time. Morgana tried to think of something meaningful to say to him, but everything she came up with seemed inadequate. "Pull yourself together, Morgana," she told herself. She wiped away the tears that had been clouding her sight. Then she put on her best ladylike face, corrected her posture and turned around to face yet another day as Lady Morgana, the king's ward.


	13. A Lovely Madness

**Author's Note: **Woo, halfway there and I'm still writing! That's pretty amazing by my standards. I would like to thank all readers and reviewers who make it feel wort my while. To celebrate that I'm still in the game, we'll be listening to a song by one of my favourite bands, Beoga. The song of the day is called _**A Lovely Madness**_.

* * *

In strong contrast to the recent events, Camelot was busier than usual, bustling with activity. Everywhere there were servants moving things, overseers shouting orders. The one exception was a lonely servant girl, walking at a slow pace. Her face was sad as she watched everyone else run around. Unlike them, she had nothing to do. She had lost her job when her mistress was abducted by a sorceress.

Gwen was headed for Arthur's quarters, where she knew Merlin would be working hard. When she reached the out she knocked timidly, but there was no answer. She hesitated a moment before she stepped in.

Arthur was standing in the middle of the room, naked but for a towel around his waist. He was in the middle of a berating speech, aimed at Merlin.

"…And I cannot believe that the water was boiling hot _again_! I thought you'd have learnt your lesson after the last time this happened. Or is water so scarce that the only chance you have to wash your face is when I throw cold water at you for scorching my toes? Because in that case, you only had to ask."

Merlin was standing by the bathtub, looking confused and slightly ashamed.

"Sorry, Arthur, it's just that the snow wouldn't melt fast enough so I stoked the fire - a bit too much, it seems."

Gwen blushed and turned around quickly before she cleared her throat. The boys heard the sound and turned to look at the door, and Arthur's face turned blood red as he rushed behind the screen he used when he got dressed in the mornings.

"Ah, Guinevere," he said from behind it, trying to sound calm. "What a delightful surprise. I was just trying to take a bath. You can turn around now."

She did and saw Merlin grin at her. He was obviously trying not to laugh. She smiled at him.

"I'm sorry, I did knock but you didn't hear me. I just wanted to ask if you needed any help?" She only thought about her choice of words after they had already left her mouth, as usual. "I mean, any help with the preparations! Not with the _bathing_, obviously, just the preparations."

Both she and Merlin could hear from Arthur's voice that he was smiling.

"Well, Merlin does have a lot to do, but I think he's got it covered. Don't you, Merlin?"

"Erm, yeah, pretty much." Merlin smiled brightly at Gwen and proceeded to pour cold water into the tub.

"Oh," Gwen said, her smile faltering. "Well, let me know if there's anything I can do."

She left the room and Arthur appeared from behind the screen. He gave Merlin a murderous glance.

"From now on, it's part of you job to hear _any_ possible knocks on the door. Is that clear?"

Gwen's next stop was Gaius's place. She knocked on the door and received a friendly greeting.

"Gwen, my dear! What can I do for you?" Gaius asked as he guided her inside.

"Actually, I was wondering if there was anything I could do for you. Ever since Morgana disappeared, I've had nothing to do. I'm going to be serving food and wine at the feast tonight, but until then I have nothing to keep me occupied."

"Well, I'm sure I can come up with something," Gaius said, smiling.

The rest of Gwen's day was spent running errands for Gaius, and soon enough, it was evening and people started filing into the banquet hall. She was standing by the wall, holding a pitcher of mulled wine. After a moment, Merlin joined her with a pitcher of his own.

"They've taken away Morgana's chair," he said, to her flatly.

"I noticed. Does that mean the king thinks she's not coming back? Is she… Is she dead?"

Merlin didn't face her, instead he stared straight ahead as he said:

"Well, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for her to come back."

Uther and Arthur walked into the room and took their places. The servants, including Gwen and Merlin, rushed forward to fill their masters and mistresses goblets with spicy, warm wine. Then Uther stood up and raised his goblet.

"As you all know," he began, "we are celebrating my birthday today. For reasons I am sure you all understand" - he looked quickly over to the side where Morgana should have been seated - "I have asked everyone to refrain from gifts this year, as a show of respect for the loss this court has suffered. Now, we will eat and drink, and I hope you will enjoy yourselves despite the recent tragic events."

Uther sat down to applause and the food was served. Everyone ate and drank and despite the tone of sadness in the speech, the feeling in the hall was good. The king's birthday was one of the biggest festive events of the year, not at all diminished by its closeness to midwinter, and the guests were determined to have a nice evening. Once everyone had eaten, the king called for musicians to amuse the crowd, and soon people were twirling around on the floor to some merry music.

As there was nothing much for them to do now, the servants were retreating to their own private party in the kitchens. Arthur saw Merlin and Gwen walk out, chatting together, and he made an excuse and followed them outside the hall.

"Merlin!" he called. His servant turned around, looking astonished as he saw who it was. Arthur smiled wearily.

"Congratulations, Merlin. You managed to go without spilling anything on me the whole evening. Well done."

Merlin grinned, surprised and pleased, but Arthur wasn't finished.

"Gwen, could I have a word with you?"

She looked at him suspiciously but turned to Merlin and said, "Go ahead, I'll be there in a moment." As Merlin left with a shrug, Arthur stepped closer to her and took her hand.

"May I have this dance?"

Gwen was so surprised she didn't have time to react before he had taken her other hand too and started moving them around to the music. Only then did she think of protesting.

"Arthur, we're right outside the door! Someone could see us!"

"Relax, no one will see us. They're all too busy having fun."

Reluctantly, she started moving on her own accord.

"I didn't know you liked dancing," she murmured, intrigued.

"Well, it seems you bring out a different side of me."

Gwen smiled. The music changed and became faster and they adjusted their tempo to it. She discovered to her surprise that Arthur was quite a good dancer. She was even more surprised by the fact that she could keep up with him.

"This is madness," Gwen panted after a while, laughing and out of breath.

"A lovely madness," Arthur agreed as he twirled her around.

That night the musicians played until their fingers were sore, and unbeknownst to the king and his guests, two persons danced just outside the door all that time. Gwen never made it to the servant's party.


	14. Anarchy in the UK

**Author's Note:** Today's chapter is the first of three continuing the same story. Each chapter is written to a Sex Pistols song. Today it's the legendary** _Anarchy in the UK_**.

**Warning!** This chapter is rated Mature.

* * *

Merlin was coming back from a sick man's house with Gaius when a horse raced past them trough the gate to the city. The guards yelled at the rider to stop, to no effect. When the horse stopped in the city square, the guards who had followed it there saw why their orders went unheard. The man they had thought was riding the horse was actually tied to it. He was also very dead.

Arthur, who had heard the commotion and rushed to its source, cut the ropes that held the man to the horse. Two guards helped him lift the man down gently and as they laid him on the floor, Arthur recognized his face. He had been the lord of an estate bordering to Mercia.

Merlin made his way trough the crowd that was gathering around the horse and the dead man. He looked at the corpse with disgust. The lord had been stabbed repeatedly and by the looks of it been held still as it happened, since there was no sign that would have indicated that he had defended himself. Something that looked strangely like a fork was painted on his forehead with his own blood.

"What's that on his forehead," Merlin asked Arthur quietly. Gaius, who had pushed his way to them in the hope that he might be able to help, heard his question.

"Some of the peasants we've been treating lately mentioned it when they thought I wasn't listening. It's the symbol of a group of lawless men. My lord," he said and turned to Arthur, "I think the king needs to hear about this. If this is what I think it is, Camelot is in great danger."

**

The king and his advisors gathered in the great hall and Gaius was took centre stage to tell everything he knew.

"It seems there is a group of peasants and farmers in lord Finbar's lands who feel they have been treated unfairly. I don't think anyone knows quite what they are angry about or what they want, but it appears they have become violent in their quest for justice. The few times I heard of them they sounded like a bunch of rogues. I never imagined they would kill lord Finbar."

"You say this thing drawn on his forehead is their symbol?" Uther asked.

"Yes. The leader of this group, a young man called Donncha, chose the pitchfork as their symbol because he is a farmer's son and knows of no other weapon. His has gathered around him other young men, but I have reason to believe that he is looking for more followers."

Uther snorted. "He will never succeed. My subjects are loyal. They will not follow anyone who brings destruction."

Gaius still looked worried. "I must warn you sire - according to what I've heard, Donncha is a very charismatic young man. He has a strange effect on people."

Uther nodded seriously. "I see. We must be careful. I will dispatch a group of soldiers to see if they cannot be calmed down without unnecessary force. But if it doesn't have the desired effect, I will show no mercy."

**

The king didn't think Arthur was needed to sort out this problem, so both he and Merlin were watching from a tower as the soldiers rode off. Merlin was feeling uneasy. In his experience, nothing was ever quite as easy as it looked, and this looked all too easy. A bunch of farmers wielding pitchforks shouldn't be a big threat to experienced soldiers, but what bothered Merlin was Gaius' words about Donncha having a strange effect on people. He dismissed the feeling of dread as paranoia. The soldiers would be back in a couple of days and then he would have no reason to worry.

**

The soldiers were approaching lord Finbar's estate as they heard a noise in the distance. They turned to ride towards it and were surprised when they saw at least a couple of hundred people gathered on a field. They were listening to a young, dark haired man who was standing on a stage made of snow. The soldiers could not hear what he was saying, but it was clear to them who the man was - Donncha. The sergeant shouted orders and the soldiers spread out around the edges of the crowd. Then the sergeant addressed Donncha.

"Donncha! We are here to arrest you and your little gang for the murder of lord Finbar. We have surrounded you and there is no point in resistance. I ask you to come peacefully."

Donncha looked down at the king's men with a sneer on his face.

"Right!" he shouted. "You want me to give myself up without hurting anyone?"

"That's right," the sergeant answered, growing suspicious.

"Well, that's not happening, mister! I don't know what I want, but I know how to get it and being imprisoned for murder is not the way."

"I warn you! We have our orders and will not hesitate to obey them."

Donncha laughed, and the sergeant knew something was wrong.

"You've come to the wrong place, mister! I'm Donncha! I can do what the fuck I want and nobody can stop me. In fact, if they try, they just end up seeing things my way. That's right, innit?"

There were cries of agreement and to the sergeant's shock, one of his men joined in with the shouting. As the sergeant looked around, he saw that his men were getting off their horses and joining the crowd.

"Ennis! Malachy! Lochlan, what are you doing? Get up on your horses right now!" the sergeant roared, blood flowing to his head. He looked around in despair as the red shirts of his soldiers disappeared into the sea of peasant clothes in shades of brown and yellow. As the last of his men jumped of his horse, the sergeant threw Donncha a furious look.

"You'll not get away with this," he shouted and turned his horse around. It was time to ride to Camelot as fast as the horse could carry him. The king had to be told about what was happening in his kingdom.

* * *

The name Donncha is pronounced "Done + acka".

To be continued… ;)


	15. God Save the Queen

**Author's Note: **Today's song is** _God Save the Queen_** by The Sex Pistols.

_**Warning! **_Rated M to be sure.

* * *

The news reached the court quickly. Everyone was shocked by the fact that, out of ten soldiers, only one had returned to tell about the strange powers Donncha possessed. All the other soldiers had joined Donnchas growing group. It was clear to Uther that the young man was building an army, and that it must be stopped. But how?

Uther called Arthur to the throne room, and asked him to bring his manservant. No one else was invited. When they arrived, Uther was standing in the middle of the room, looking uncharacteristically worried.

"Arthur, I have reason to believe that this Donncha is using magic," he said. "A normal attack would not work on him, it seems, so I want you to find him and keep an eye on him. Find out as much as you can about him. Every little detail could be useful. But, Arthur, I cannot stress enough the importance of remaining unseen! If you were subjected to his powers… That is why I want you to take only your servant with you. The fewer you are, the smaller the risk of being discovered."

**

They left as soon as they could and before nightfall, they had found the enormous crowd that was now following Donncha. It seemed the man himself was never alone, and always speaking to his troops. Neither Arthur nor Merlin could see why everyone seemed to think that Donncha's every word was genius, as his speeches mostly consisted of insulting his followers.

"Look at you!" he was saying when Arthur crept closer to him in the cover of some bushes. "You're morons! You don't even understand that I'm insulting you." The crowd cheered. "Well, that's the way the king likes you. Too stupid to understand what's going on around you. Did any of you even notice that bloody Uther married a _troll _earlier this year? A fucking troll! That's right, the queen wasn't even human. And when the king demanded more money, even more money than you give him every year, you just paid and didn't even think of refusing. Submission is a crime, you know. Submission is a crime, and you have a duty to resist!"

This time, the people just looked confused. They didn't cheer.

"Right, I forgot," Donncha continued, sarcasm gleaming in his eyes. "You're too thick to know what long words mean. Well, I'll tell you what it means! It means we're the future! 'Cause we're going to take over Camelot, and we'll do whatever we want. Oh, sorry. Correction: _I_'ll do what I want, and you lot will do whatever I tell you. So really, there's no future for you." He looked at the people with distaste and walked to a camp fire that some girls were gathered around. They screamed and threw themselves at Donncha when he approached them, and he growled at them appreciatively.

"Where's my drink, girlies?" he asked them, smiling dangerously. The girls almost fell over each other in their eagerness to be the first to present him with a bottle. He grabbed the closest one and took a small sip of the liquid inside. Arthur, who was now close enough to see Donncha shiver, noticed that he relaxed as soon as he swallowed.

"Merlin!" Arthur hissed and pointed at the bottles that the girls were putting back in a basket. Merlin nodded and started crawling towards it unnoticed as Donncha strolled back to his audience, followed by the girls.

"Where was I?" Donncha asked as he stared at the people with black eyes. A woman who happened to stand close to him sighed quietly and fainted. Nobody seemed to notice, least of all Donncha.

"Ah, right," he snarled. "I was talking about what I'm going to do with Camelot. Everything's too bloody orderly now. I want some chaos! I want to see noble lords and ladies shovelling dung. I'm going to - what's that?" Donncha spun around and Arthur cursed quietly to himself. He had been listening so intently that he had let a branch swing back into place once he had passed it, and Donncha must have heard the loud swish of snow covered branches colliding. He was coming towards Arthur now, looking unafraid even though he wasn't armed.

"Who's there? Did Uther send a little spy? How very thoughtful of him! My army could use reinforcements."

Arthur gritted his teeth. He couldn't escape and Donncha was coming closer. If he showed himself, maybe Merlin would get away and warn his father. Reluctantly Arthur stepped out in plain view.

"Hello, Donncha," he said, trying to sound self-confident. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Not pleasant things, I think," Donncha replied with a smug smile.

"Not very. But it looks like you have a lot of friends."

"Oh, them?" Donncha replied with a frown. "No, they're just some idiots who seem to like my company. In fact, everyone I meet seems to like my company." He gave Arthur a strange look.

"I can see why they would," Arthur said with a dazed smile. "In fact, do you mind if I stay for a while? You seem very interesting."

That was when Merlin jumped up behind him and pinched his earlobe. Arthur shook his head but Merlin wouldn't leave him alone.

"Arthur, this is very important," he screamed in Arthur's ear. "You have to do as I say. Follow me. Now _run_!"

Arthur did as he said, and to Merlin's surprise, nobody followed them as they ran through the forest. When they reached their horses, Arthur had come to his senses.

"Did you get the bottle?" he asked as they mounted. "Whatever is in it must be important."

"Yeah," Merlin panted. "It's almost empty but I think Gaius will be able to tell what the liquid is."

"Good," Arthur answered. "Now let's get home, fast."

**

When they rode in through the city gates, Merlin was so tired that he just dropped off the mysterious bottle by Gaius and fell into bed. It felt like only moments later when Gaius woke him up, looking worried.

"What is it?" Merlin asked as he blinked sleep out of his eyes.

"Merlin, the liquid in the bottle is a potion made of the lister flower," Gaius answered, distraught. "That is what gives Donncha his enormous powers of persuasion - when the essence of the flower is distilled and mixed with water, its magical proportions are revealed. The potions is very strong, nobody has used it for decades because it is so dangerous in large doses. This means that Donncha could easily take control over every man and woman in Camelot."

Merlin sat up straight.

"But that's exactly what he's planning! How are we going to stop him?"

Gaius didn't have time to answer before the warning bells started ringing. He and Merlin exchanged a fearful look and they ran to the window.

What they saw was a frightening sight indeed. Outside the city, gathered where the forest ended, stood hundreds of men and women, all staring at their leader who was pacing back and forth, occasionally glaring at the city.

Merlin swallowed.

"He's already here."

* * *

The story continues tomorrow…


	16. Did You No Wrong

**Author's Notes: **Please forgive me for any sloppiness, this is written in quite a hurry. I have a lot of Biology to homework to tackle. Today's song is _**Did You No Wrong**_ by The Sex Pistols.

**Warning! **This fic is rated T!

* * *

Merlin turned to Gaius, looking determined.

"We can't let this happen. How can we stop him?"

"The only thing that works against the lister flower is the poison of the black and brown snake. I have a small bottle of it in case of emergencies, but it won't be nearly enough."

"How much is there?" Merlin asked.

"Only enough to keep the king, the prince and a few guards from falling under Donncha's influence."

"That's not enough," Merlin said, frowning. "Are you sure that there is no more of the poison somewhere?"

"I'm sure," Gaius answered hopelessly. "It doesn't keep very well so it has to be gathered regularly, and I'm the only person who has a reason to do that."

"There must be something we can do!" Merlin's eyes fell on the spell book which was lying hidden under some other books. He dug it up and started flipping the pages, muttering to himself. Gaius went to look for the poison and had just found the bottle it was in when a shout from Merlin surprised him.

"I've found something!" Gaius rushed to his side and Merlin pointed at the instructions to a spell.

"An enchantment to increase the concentration of a liquid? Merlin, that is perfect! We could dilute the new, stronger poison with water and it would cater to more people… Have I ever told you that you're a genius?"

Merlin smiled mischievously.

"Not lately, no. But there's no time for compliments, Donncha could be walking into the city at this very moment."

"Right, of course. You'd better get to work." Gaius handed him the little bottle containing the snake poison and Merlin poured the content into a bowl. Then he concentrated.

"_**Forgiefan pān wæt mā onweald!**_"

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and they watched as the poison bubbled a little and then changed colour.

"Do you think it worked?" Merlin asked in a whisper.

"I hope so," Gaius answered. "Now all we need is water."

**

Gwen volunteered to bring the finished mixture to the guards closest to Donncha and his people.

"Drink this," she told them. "It's the king's orders. It will give you strength." The guards obeyed gladly. They had seen the size of that army and its weapons, and when you thought about it, swords were shorter than pitchforks.

Merlin was running around with a quaich in his hands, allowing everyone dressed in military wear to take a sip. He and Gaius had run the plan by Uther who had approved it and taken the first sip of the drink. Well, the second, actually. Merlin wasn't about to go around poisoning people. He had tasted the liquid and made sure it was safe before taking it to the king.

Arthur was standing in the city square, instructing the people of Camelot. For the sake of their plan, it was important that everyone knew what to do. Already a large group of men were in place along the main street of the city.

Suddenly the warning bells started ringing again, and the people in the square could hear screams and sounds of battle. The knights moved into a formation with Arthur at the front. Then they waited. Merlin, who had nothing to do now that the quaich was empty, came to stand behind the knights.

The screams died down but the sound of marching feet grew stronger. Soon Donncha came into view, walking ahead of his army. On the edges of the group, Merlin could see citizens of Camelot with faces as void of emotion as everyone else's.

"Ah," Donncha exclaimed when he saw Arthur. "My runaway soldier, the deserter! Good to meet you again. Ironic, don't you think, that you'll still be joining the rat pack?"

"I'm not planning to," Arthur announced coolly. He took a deep breath and shouted: "Attack!"

At that word, the people of Camelot who had pretended to be in Donncha's powers threw themselves over his other victims, pushing them so close together that they couldn't wield their pitchforks and spears. The knights headed for the man himself. Donncha barely had time to blink before countless swords were pointed at him and two knights were holding his arms firmly.

"What the… How the hell?!" Donncha spat as he tried to free himself, unsuccessfully.

"Take him to the king, Arthur ordered.

**

In the great hall, Donncha was thrown onto the floor in front of Uther who looked at him with disgust.

"You are charged with treason. You have used magic and murdered a noble man. The sentence is execution. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Donncha was looking around quickly, trying to catch anyone's eyes, but nobody would look at him for very long.

"You accuse me falsely," he growled. "I did you no wrong. I was doing you a favour."

Uther looked incredulous and annoyed at this. "There is plenty of evidence," he snapped. "There is no use in denying it - you are a killer and you were plotting to take power yourself."

"All right, I did, but I'm going out of my mind! I'm a little insane! I see your face in the bog! I didn't mean to, it was the drink!"

Uther looked at Gaius, who hesitated before he spoke.

"It is true that the lister potion affects the brain. He could have been hallucinating."

"But is he insane?" Uther demanded.

Gaius almost pouted with dismay.

"No. I believe he has control over his mind still."

Uther looked straight at Donncha, who was on his knees on the floor.

"Then the sentence stands. Take him away."

"No! You may take my life but you can't take my freedom!" Suddenly Donncha was on his feet and fiddling with something inside his shirt. As he pulled it out, Merlin recognized it and shouted a warning, but before anyone could stop him, Donncha had emptied the little bottle of lister brew. With a sigh, he let it fall to the floor where it broke into a thousand sharp pieces of glass. Then his eyes rolled backwards into his head and he collapsed into the arms of the knights who had rushed forward to stop him.

Gaius knelt by his side and felt his wrist. Then he looked up at the king.

"There is no pulse. His heart has stopped."

Arthur rushed to the window to look out at the city square, where the former army was still standing. Now the people were massaging their heads and looking confused.

"It seems the spell died with him," he stated with relief.

**

When Merlin finally made it back home that evening, Gaius was just draining the poison from a rather angry looking snake. With a shudder, Merlin thought back at knight Valiant's big serpents. Then he helped Gaius press the snake into the basket in which it would be taken back to the forest.

"Supplementing your supplies?" he remarked, trying to sound casual.

"Yes," Gaius answered with a slight smile. "Today left quite a dent in them." Then he busied himself with dinner preparations.

Merlin had a feeling the something wasn't quite right. "Are you all right?" he asked, concerned.

"Fine, fine," Gaius mumbled. Then he paused and turned to face Merlin.

"It wasn't… _Wrong_ of me to tell Uther that Donncha was sane, was it?"

"Did you think he was?" Merlin asked, trying to sound objective.

"Yes."

"Well, you did the right thing, then. You shouldn't lie to the king."

"But I should have suspected that Donncha would try to kill himself. I should have known. It is my task to evaluate people's health, physical and mental."

Merlin wanted to protest that Donncha was going to die anyway, but he knew better.

"Gaius, you did everything you could. Donncha was clearly a very twisted person, I think he would have wanted you to blame yourself for his death. You shouldn't let him rule you even after his death!"

"Right." This time Gaius' smile was real.

Merlin yawned. "I think I'll skip dinner and go to bed, if you don't mind," he said as he headed for his room. When he was in the doorway, Gaius cleared his throat.

"Merlin?" he said.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

* * *

Just curious, did anyone get the Sid & Nancy reference? Yes? No? Anyway, I used an online Old English translator for the magic words but I'm sure both grammar and meaning are horrific. Ah well.


	17. Wild World

**Author's Notes: **I just have to point out that I'm lucky enough to have reviewers who spoil me rotten. Careful, you don't want to inflate my ego! ;)

Anyhow, today we'll be listening to _**Wild World **_by Cat Stevens.

* * *

Uther was hard at work. He was looking at maps of an estate that had recently lost its lord, trying to decide who he would put in charge of it until the murdered lord Finbar's son was old enough to take over. But every so often, he would look at a spot in the room and sigh.

The thing he was looking at was the exact spot where Morgana had disappeared not very long ago. She had lain there on the floor, obviously unwell, maybe even dying, when Morgause took her away with magic. Morgause had looked straight into Uther's eyes as her eyes glowed golden orange. He still found it hard to believe that Morgana was gone.

She had been with him ever since her father died in battle. At first, he had only visited her once a week, out of a sense of duty. But over the years, she had grown into a free-spirited young lady. With no one else to contradict him, she would express her views courteously but passionately without fear of consequences. Sometimes, they had argued. But even when he was telling her to go to her room, Uther knew that he would forgive her, and she him. It was that kind of a relationship.

That had changed abruptly. Morgana had always been enigmatic, but for some time now, Uther had had the feeling that she was hiding something from him. When he found out she had helped Alvarr escape, he had gone into a mighty fit of rage. How dared she help a traitor to the crown, one who had plotted the downfall of Camelot? Did she think he wouldn't know? It was so obvious, it looked like she hadn't even bothered to cover her tracks. She had been the one to bring the guards a drink, the only drink they had that night - the drink that made them fall asleep. Did she not even care that he new she was the one to free the condemned man?

Fortunately, he had been able to control his temper. For once, he had not acted immediately, and for that he was thankful. Once he had calmed down a little and was able to think rationally, he had realized what must have possessed her to do something so vile. Magic. He was sure she had been enchanted to do things she would now have no memory of. Of course the resistance would target someone close to him, and who better than lady Morgana? It was commonly known that they sometimes had strong disagreements, and if she was sentenced for criminal activity, one of his pillars of support would be gone. Uther had decided it was best not to mention anything about it to her, since she would only get unnecessary worked up over something that could not be changed. What with work and duties he had hardly had time to talk to her at all.

Of course, he knew now that he had been wrong. He should have told her about the magical people's strange fascination with her so that she could have defended herself when he wasn't there to do that. It was his fault that she had been taken from them.

He had sent out numerous search parties, but Morgana was nowhere to be found. Uther could only hope that she was alive and well, wherever she was. As for himself, he knew he would always remember her as the obstinate girl she had been to him.

With a quiet cough he turned back to his documents for the umpteenth time that day.

* * *

I seem to be doing a lot of these contemplation things, let me know if they bore you. And if you have any extra time, check out this year's Project for Awesome on YouTube… Bigger, better and more awesome than ever. DFTBA.


	18. What Chance Have I With Love?

**Author's Notes: **Yippee! Only a week left! Now, don't take this the wrong way, but writing this is really stressful. Add that to the normal Christmas stress and… Kaboom.

Anyway, today's song is** _What Chance Have I With Love?_** written by Irving Berlin and performed by Donald O'Connor.

* * *

Arthur was walking along a corridor in his thoughts, when a sound startled him.

"Psst!" someone was whispering loudly from the shadows of a closet.

Cautiously, with a hand on his sword, Arthur edged towards the closet. His eyes hadn't had time to get used to the darkness before two small, pale hands grabbed his lapels and pulled him into the closet.

"Arthur, my love," the person whispered joyously. "Finally! I thought I would never see you again!" A mouth was pressed against Arthur's and he tried to pull back but the kisser was surprisingly strong. When he was finally allowed to breathe again, Arthur blinked in the darkness. That breathless smile, those blonde locks…

"Vivian?!" he exclaimed with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Shush, my love," she hushed him. "We must not be heard. It would be a terrible thing indeed if I was taken from you when I've only just found you again." With that she giggled and pressed closer to him. He grabbed her shoulders and held her away so he could look at her as he spoke.

"What are you doing here? I thought you father took you with him when he left?"

"He did! Oh, he was so mean, he put me in the care of my spinster aunts and hoped that their loveless lives would curb my feelings for you. I told him that you are my true love and that we will be together forever but he wouldn't listen! So I ran away." She smiled and tried to kiss Arthur but he wouldn't let her.

"You ran away?! Vivian, does your father know you're here?"

She punched his chest playfully, and it actually hurt. "No, of course not, silly! If he knew he would just take me back. Now, aren't you going to greet me properly…?" She reached up for a kiss again, and Arthur pushed her down with a grimace.

"Of course," he said. "Welcome to Camelot… Dear." That last word was forced. "I'll just get Merlin to set you up somewhere nice, shall I? In fact, I'll go and find him right now. Don't move! And don't let anybody see you." Arthur backed away. When he was sure Vivian couldn't see him anymore, he turned and ran. Fortunately, he didn't have to look very far for Merlin. Arthur found him chatting to Gwen. He slowed down to a walk and closed up on them.

"Merlin," he said, trying to sound normal. "I have a job for you." There was a pause.

"Right, what is it?" Merlin asked when he realized no further explanations were forthcoming.

"It's a long story," Arthur hinted, looking pained. "I'm sure Gwen wouldn't be interested in it…"

Gwen, who had been following the conversation looking curious, blushed and looked hurt. "Of course," she said and started walking away. When she was out of earshot, Arthur groaned.

"I am making a mess of this," he complained. "I always say the wrong things! And now _Vivian_ is complicating the matter."

Merlin had no idea what his master was talking about. "But that was a long time ago," he objected. "I'm sure Gwen understands that your feelings for Vivian weren't genuine."

"That's not what I meant," Arthur growled. "She's here, you idiot! She has returned to Camelot and isn't planning on leaving any time soon."

"Oh," Merlin said, intelligently.

"Yes, oh! Why did this have to happen to me? What chance have I with love when _magic_ has girls falling for me left, right and centre?!"

A smile was tugging on Merlin's lips. "Oh, don't be modest, Arthur," he said. "I'm sure some of it is because of your natural charm."

"Really?" Arthur said, glaring at Merlin. "Well, isn't it good that you're my friend, then, because you will get to clean up this mess. You can figure out a way of getting Vivian out of Camelot without Gwen ever knowing she was here."

"Me?" Merlin paled visibly. "But she doesn't want to leave, right?"

"Of course she doesn't," Arthur said with a dangerous smile. "It wouldn't be a challenge if she did, now would it?" He turned on his heels and started marching away.

"Oh, and by the way," he shouted over his shoulder, "she's hiding in that closet in the hallway to the tower. You had better get her out of there before anyone sees her."

Merlin groaned into his hands and set off to find the lady in the closet. Once he found her, he had a hard time persuading her to follow him, not to the luxurious quarters she was used to, but to the dungeons. As he had found out, it was a very good place for hiding people. But hiding Freya was a bit different from hiding lady Vivian. For starters, Freya hadn't screamed when she saw a rat.

"Keep your voice down," Merlin begged her. "Somebody could hear you!"

"But that's a rat! A big, dirty rat!"

"Yes, I know, you get them in the cellars. Now please, just be quiet and follow me."

"I don't appreciate your tone of voice," she said snottily and didn't move. "You may be Arthur's servant but I am his beloved. One word from me an you will lose your job!"

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry. Now could you please come this way?"

She kindly obliged, gathering her skirts unnecessarily high to keep them far from every offensive speck of dirt. When Merlin had finally managed to position her at a safe distance from the closest living human being, he told her that he would fetch her dinner and left, after ensuring her that he would make sure the skin of the chicken was removed and that any fruits were peeled in the kitchens. Then he went to find Arthur.

"She is a nightmare!" Merlin complained as he closed the door to Arthur's chambers. "She was ordering me around the whole time and we were nearly seen five times! I'm glad you're not marrying her."

Arthur didn't smile. He knew all too well that his opinions wouldn't matter much when his marriage was arranged.

"So do you have any ideas how to get her out safely?" he asked Merlin.

"Plenty!" Merlin said, rolling his eyes. "But only one of them doesn't involve force. You are going to tell her that you asked for your father's permission to marry her" - he held up a hand to silence Arthur's protests - "and he said that he would disinherit you if you ever so much as thought about her again."

Arthur thought it through, looking dubious. "Do you think she will believe me?"

"I'm sure she will. Then I'll smuggle her out as a servant girl and tell her to ride back home. When she gets there she'll tell her father she was visiting a childhood friend."

Arthur mulled it over. "All right," he said with a sigh. "Let's get this done." Together they headed for the dungeons.

**

Vivian did not take the news very well. She cried tears of rage and threw herself on Arthur, who could only pat her shoulder comfortingly, giving Merlin a helpless look. When Vivian's screams finally turned into sobs, Arthur helped her get the servant girl's cloak on and sent her and Merlin on their way. They made it past the guards without being noticed, but when they were walking trough the dark streets of Camelot, someone spotted them.

"Merlin!" Gwen shouted. "I was wondering where you've been all day. I haven't seen you since lunch time!"

Merlin swore to himself as he turned around slowly, trying to stand so that he covered Vivian.

"I've been busy," he said nonchalantly. "That thing of Arthur's, you know."

"Oh, yes, that secret thing. Of course. I'll let you get on with it then," Gwen said, sounding unusually bitter. Merlin hesitated. It certainly wasn't his job to work out Arthur's love trouble for him, but he couldn't help feeling sad for Gwen. He gestured to lady Vivian to stay where she was and stepped closer to Gwen so he could whisper to her without being heard by Vivian.

"Don't tell Arthur I said this, but he actually sent me out to fetch his midwinter present for you. I have to go now, but remember not to tell Arthur!" He stepped back and saw a smile spread on Gwen's face.

"I won't tell him," she said, still smiling. "Good night, Merlin."

"Night!" He led lady Vivian safely away and out of the city to the little clearing in the forest where she had thoughtlessly left her horse. Once he had made sure she was headed the right way, he made his way back to Arthur's room just in time for the evening rituals.

"Is she gone?" Arthur asked, wound tight like a violin string. "Is she out of Camelot? Did anyone see her?"

"She's gone," Merlin confirmed. Arthur sighed with relief and slipped down comfortably in his chair.

"By the way," Merlin grinned, "you might want to get Gwen a midwinter present."

* * *

In the movie in which Donald O'Connor sings this song, his character falls in love with a princess. Just a side note. :)


	19. Songbird

**Author's Notes: **I'm glad so many of you liked the last chapter because this one will more than make up for it. In fact, if I didn't have to post something today, I'd delete this immediately. So I'm just hoping that you'll be so distracted by the beautiful music that you'll forget all about how awful this chapter is. Introducing the song of the day: _**Songbird**_ by Fleetwood Mac.

* * *

Arthur was pacing his room. He had a difficult decision to make, and a lot depended on whether he made the right choice. He could feel sweat rising up on his brow as he pondered the question.

What was he going to get Gwen for midwinter?

Arthur had countless ideas, but most of them were swiftly discarded due to one fault or another. A beautiful dress? He would love to see her wear something he gave her, but it would imply that the dresses she already owned were not good enough. Jewellery? That would be coming on a bit strong. Flowers? Not enough, and besides, where would he get fresh ones in the middle of the winter… An animal, perhaps a songbird? No, he did not know if she liked animals and anyway, how would she pay for its upkeep? A goblet? No - what was he thinking?! A goblet was something you gave a neighbouring king, not the woman you valued over anyone else.

Arthur had asked Merlin for advice, but it turned out that the servant was even worse than he was at coming up with midwinter gift ideas. He had suggested some new shoes, because apparently, Gwen needed new ones, or a comb. When Arthur had complained that new shoes didn't send the right message and that a comb would be even worse, Merlin had just mumbled something vague about the best gifts being made by the giver. That may be true, but the regrettable truth was that the prince of Camelot did not know how to make anything much. He was much better with swords than with a paintbrush or a hammer.

There was one thing Arthur could at least manage reasonably well, though. Years of hunting expeditions had left him knowing his way around fresh meat. Given a camp fire and a some game, he could roast meat that was still edible when he was finished with it. Arthur stopped and stared intently at the table set for one. A plan was forming.

That evening, when Gwen returned home after running some errands, she felt the smell of roast beef even before she opened the door. She walked into her house cautiously and was mightily surprised when she saw a blonde mop of hair by the fireplace, in which a big fire was roaring.

"Arthur?" she asked, not quite believing her eyes. "Is that you?"

Arthur took a deep breath and turned around to face her with a nervous smile on his face.

"Happy midwinter," he said.

Gwen took a few steps closer to him before the shining plates on the table caught her attention. There was no cutlery.

"What is this?" she asked with wonder in her voice.

Arthur cleared his throat. "I was thinking about the last time I offered too cook for you and how wrong that went. I thought I could try to make up for that as my midwinter present to you. Now, I'm not a chef, so don't have too high expectations. I've done my best, but it will still be a bit primitive, I'm afraid."

Gwen looked at the fire and saw a grille with meat and a few onions on it. One look at the chairs two chairs that had been placed in front of the fireplace told her that this would not be a conventional dinner. She chose one of the chairs and sat down, waiting to see what would happen next.

Arthur used a knife to pick up half of the hot steaks and onions when he moved them to one of the plates, which he then handed to Gwen. Then he served himself. They sat in front of the fire, eating with their hands. Gwen took the first bite and chewed thoughtfully.

"Oh!" she said, sounding surprised. "This is good!"

Arthur secretly breathed a breath of relief. "I'm glad you like it."

"I didn't know you could cook," Gwen said curiously.

"I can't really, not the kind of food we normally eat. This is just the kind of thing you have to learn if you want something to eat when you're miles from home and have limited supplies."

They sat there, eating and chatting. It turned out to be a very pleasant evening. When it was time for Arthur to leave, Gwen was radiating happiness when she saw him off at the door.

"Thank you, Arthur," she said with a genuine smile. "This was a wonderful gift. I don't think I'll ever forget this evening."

Strong emotions were choking Arthur's words as he looked steadily into her eyes.

"Nor will I," he finally squeezed out. Then he left abruptly before he could blurt out something embarrassing.

Gwen leaned against the door with a blissful sigh. Her thoughts still on Arthur she turned around and faced the empty room. Her look fell on the two plates neatly stacked at the table and she smiled to herself. Of course. Arthur was a prince - he would forget about the washing up.

* * *

What romantic drivel. I apologize profusely for actually subjecting you to this. So, so sorry!


	20. Eisbär

**Author's Notes: **Another rather forced story, I'm afraid. This time to the music of OOMPH!, a band that among other things write spectacularly odd lyrics. The song of the day is _**Eisbär**_.

**Warning! **Spoilers for the season two finale.

* * *

Camelot was not looking its best. Parts of it was in ruins and because of the destruction brought on by the fires, a lot of people were currently living in the castle. The city looked like a refugee camp.

And then there were the dead. The ground was frozen so they would not be put to rest any time soon. In the mean time, they were being carried down to the ice cellars. It was a hard job, emotionally more so than physically. But people bit their teeth together and carried on.

Uther was well aware of his people's suffering. He knew something had to be done. The country was weak, and if an enemy chose to invade at this moment, Camelot would be doomed. So to keep the citizen's spirit up, he had decreed that the midwinter celebrations would proceed as usual - only this year, everyone would be included. Old, young, rich and poor were all invited to a great banquet on midwinter day. Well, a great banquet - it would, of course, not measure up to last year's feast.

Nevertheless, there were preparations to be made. One thing Uther was sure of was that they would need a midwinter tree. So he had sent out Arthur and Merlin for it.

Arthur was grumpy, walking in the forest.

"One day you're fighting a bloody big dragon, and the next, they send you out for a tree!" he muttered to himself. Merlin, who was walking behind him, heard him.

"You should take it as a compliment," Merlin advised. "You father obviously trusts you to find the very best tree there is!" He didn't bother to duck for Arthur's fist which hit him playfully in the head.

"Right," Arthur sighed as they had walked a while in silence. "That one will do, won't it?" He pointed to a spruce in a clearing.

Merlin looked around. He thought he knew this place from somewhere… Then it dawned on him. He looked carefully for marks in the snow but there didn't seem to be any. Lancelot must be long gone.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It looks perfect."

The got out their tools and sawed the tree off by its base. Then they took one end each and started carrying it towards the castle. Arthur, needless to say, ended up with the base end. Merlin was holding the top of the tree.

"Ow!" he exclaimed after a while.

"What?" Arthur asked, resigned.

"Nothing… The tree just pricked me."

They carried on in silence.

When they arrived in the city, people turned around to look at them in the streets. Everywhere they went, they met smiles. At last they walked into the great hall and let the spruce sink to the ground. Gwen, who had happened to be nearby, rushed forward.

"Is that the midwinter tree? It looks gorgeous!"

"I'm glad you like it," Arthur said in a gruff voice. "We did endure a very uncomfortable walk for it." He left the room without another word.

"What's with him?" Gwen whispered to Merlin, who smiled mischievously.

"He thinks it's undignified to be sent out for a tree," Merlin explained.

"Oh. Well, it was certainly worth it," Gwen commented. "That tree is beautiful."

"Yeah." Merlin looked around and leaned closer to her. "It was actually growing right in the clearing where Lancelot had set up camp!"

"Really?" Gwen asked, her face softening. "He wasn't there, was he?"

"No, he's gone," Merlin replied.

"Right," Gwen nodded, looking sad. "Well, I had better start decorating it."

When she was hanging up garlands of straw, Gwen was thinking about Lancelot. She was wondering whether she had seen him for the last time when he brought her midwinter gift. Somehow she didn't think so. She wanted to believe that she would meet him again - one day.

* * *

Sorry about this one. It has neither head nor tail, I know. But hey, hard to follow something as great as the finale, right? I promise I'll come up with something better for Christmas Day.

And by the way, the reason there is snow in my stories and none in the series is that the snow magically melts away every time the BBC film crew decide to pay Camelot a visit.


	21. Bad Before Good

**Author's Notes: **Today's song is _**Bad Before Good **_by Day One. Sorry about the late upload time, I've been last minute - shopping and wrappings presents…

* * *

Midwinter was days away and there was still so much to do. The citizens of Camelot were hastily replacing gifts that had been destroyed by the great dragon. The knights were out hunting most of the day to get enough supplies for the feast. Merlin was not with them. He was, once again, on kitchen duty.

He was scrubbing dirty pots and pans and listening to the far off giggles of the kitchen maids. Had he thought about it, he would probably have realized that he was the cause for their sudden mirth, but he wasn't thinking about that. He was thinking about his father. Balinor. The last dragon lord, who had passed on his gift to Merlin when he died.

It had been such an overwhelming year for Merlin. He had fallen in love, found his father, experienced loss and felt his powers grow even more. It was no wonder that he could hardly concentrate this days. There was so much to think about. The other day he had been sitting by the fireplace, looking at the wooden dragon his father had carved for him, and suddenly a teardrop had fallen on it. That had been his cue to start sobbing embarrassingly loudly. Gaius had been quite frightened by the sudden intensity of Merlin's grief. He had sat down beside the boy quietly and hugged him until the tears subsided. Gaius had tried to comfort Merlin with kind, wise words.

"It must get bad before it can get good," he had told his young friend. "But trust me, you will feel better eventually."

"Doesn't feel like it," Merlin had muttered, wiping tears from his eyes. Everything was still too fresh in his memory to be tolerated, and the only way he made it trough the day was by not thinking about anything remotely sad. To an outsider, he looked like a lad thoroughly enjoying the holiday season. It was only when he was doing easy, manual work that he couldn't distract himself anymore. This was why he had surprised Arthur by asking for permission to be relieved of the kitchen work so he could come along to the hunt.

"What is wrong with you?" Arthur had asked, astounded. "Are you ill? I thought you liked working in the kitchens!"

"I do, but hunting is much more exciting," Merlin replied to that with an pleading face.

Arthur looked at Merlin as if he was sprouting feathers from his face. "You must be ill, then. You'd never say that if you were yourself."

"No, really, I think I've gotten the hang of it now. Please take me with you!"

Arthur gave Merlin a last look and shook his head pityingly. "I'm sorry, Merlin, but when they ask for extra staff in the kitchens it means they are really stretched. Things are hard as it is, I don't want to cause any more trouble for them. God knows what they'll serve us at the feast if I do."

And that was how Merlin ended up with dirty water to his elbows. At first he tried to keep himself busy by cleaning everything so well that it shone, but he couldn't help it, being meticulous was just not in his nature. After a while he started thinking. He remembered his father's gnarled face and how he hadn't even been able to give him a proper burial. Not that he knew what Balinor would have thought was a proper burial - that was among the many things they had never had the chance to talk about. There were so much he would never know, now… And he had to decide whether he was going to tell his mother that he had met his father. Would it just hurt her unnecessarily to find out that Balinor was dead? Or would the news of the short reunion of father and son weigh up the sorrow? Merlin was glad he wouldn't have to make his final decision about that until the next time he went home, because whatever he told her, it would have to be said face to face.

Merlin thought about the great dragon for a while. The connection he had found within himself to the creature of the old magic had been so strong, so special. He could see how the dragonlords would have befriended those magnificent creatures in olden times. But things were different now. The great dragon, Kildara, had been crazed with the thought of revenge. It had to obey him when he told it to leave Camelot in peace, though. He had ordered it to show mercy - it would not be a threat any more. In the ancient language, he had spoken to it about open skies far away, of untouched land and moonlit meadows. The last of the dragons was free.

Merlin had tried to kill it, but it was impossible. After all the harm it had done, to Camelot, to the people he had loved, after all the lies it had old him, he still couldn't kill it. Merlin knew all too well what it was like to be the last of his kind. He could not willingly sever the connection between the last dragon and the last dragonlord.

Merlin's thoughts were interrupted by a shy cough behind him. He turned around and briefly closed his eyes in horror, because standing there watching him were all the kitchen maids. One of them stepped forward.

"Erm, Merlin, we were wondering… Would you like to escort one of us to the feast?" Several of the girls were twisting strands of their hair around their fingers and smiling nervously.

Merlin looked from one maid to another, panicking slightly. "Um, I, eh… As it were, I'm… Actually, I'm going…" He was going to say that he was going to the banquet with Gwen, but thought better of it. Arthur would not be happy if he said that. "I'm going to be working the whole evening, so I'm afraid I wouldn't be very nice company."

"Oh," the spokeswoman said, looking disappointed. Behind her, there were several groans and one "I told you so!". The maid who had done most of the talking sighed deeply. "We understand. But feel free to ask any one of us if you change your mind."

"Yes, uh, I'll keep that in mind," Merlin stammered and the girls dispersed. Only one of them stayed behind to give him a wink before she, too, got back to work.

Merlin turned back to his dishwater, still feeling shell shocked. Those maids were certainly very keen on him! He wondered glumly whether they would feel the same way if they knew the truth. Then he smiled sadly to himself. He was hardly going to find out any time soon, now, was he?

* * *

I have only one comment: The Return of The Fangirls! XD


	22. Walk Away

**Author's Notes: **Wow, only a couple of days left. Thanks for staying with me even with the standard I've been keeping the last days, I promise I'll put more work into the last two chapters. Today's song is _**Walk Away**_ by Franz Ferdinand.

* * *

Lancelot was doing something that was very much unlike him. He was skulking.

He was supposed to be miles away, somewhere else entirely. But he couldn't bring himself to leave Camelot just yet. For every day he stayed here, it got harder to stay hidden - he was sure he had been seen at least once, perhaps more. And yet he could not pack up his bags and go.

He could hardly bear to admit it to himself, but he was jealous. He had caught a glimpse of Gwen bandaging Arthur's wounds tenderly when he had ventured into the city to make sure she was safe from the dragon. And then he had stayed, even though he knew he shouldn't. He had hidden in alleyways and slept between pigs just to see things that broke his heart.

Gwen was falling in love with Arthur. In fact, she might already love him. And that was good and Lancelot really shouldn't have any objections to that. Guinivere deserved the best there was. But Lancelot's love for her would never be affected by reason. However much he tried, he could not stop wanting Gwen for himself. He could only vow that he would not stand in the way to her happiness. He would leave Camelot for ever and try his best to forget about her one second at a time.

But surely no one could judge him for wanting to see Guinivere one last time before he left…?

That was why Lancelot was hiding between two empty crates, wearing a dark hood that hid his features. He had been in the city long enough, now, to know that she passed this way every day. He would watch Gwen as she walked past, memorize her face and then leave quietly without drawing attention to himself. At least, that was the plan.

Gwen came walking along the street. She was wearing a hood over her light yellow dress and she looked happy. There was a spring in her step and she was humming a melody to herself as she walked. Lancelot watched her movements, transfixed by the beauty of it all. He tried to imprint every detail of her into his memory. The way the hem of her dress swung with every step she took, the slight curve of her lips as she smiled, the dark eyelashes… As she passed him by at a safe distance, he breathed in deeply and felt the faint smell of dried flowers and soap that was her scent. Then all he could see was her back, the movements of her hips barely visible below the cloak. With a sigh of relief, he stood up. He had seen her for the last time. He turned to leave, and because he was so stiff from sitting still all that time, his reactions were too slow as he bumped into one of the crates he had been hiding behind. It fell to the ground with a loud noise.

Lancelot froze with his face to the wall. The sound of Gwen's footsteps had stopped. Then he heard her turn around.

"Is everything all right?" she asked, and Lancelot cursed to himself. Why had he ever returned to Camelot?! He knew he couldn't trust himself when she was near him. Even now he was itching to turn around and embrace her, but that would not help her towards a bright future with Arthur. He could not let himself do that. It took a tremendous amount of willpower to keep facing away from the woman he loved, but he did it.

"Hello?" Gwen said and took a step towards Lancelot, who felt like crying, so hard was it for him to hide from her. If only she could go away, then he would be back in control over himself again. But she took another step towards him and he knew he would either have to show himself and hate himself for it or come up with something to make her leave.

With shaking hands, Lancelot picked up the leather bottle of water that was hanging from his belt. He screwed off the stopper and held the bottle in front of him with both hands so that Gwen couldn't see what he was doing. Then he poured the water into the snow. She heard the sound and interpreted his position in the most obvious way, and turned away with burning cheeks. She left the street quickly without another word and Lancelot let the bottle drop into the snow in a sudden fit of despair.

He had just fooled the woman he loved into thinking he was a stranger who was urinating against a wall. How much worse could it get?

Lancelot sighed as he bent down to pick up the by now empty bottle. This was certainly not the best last memory of Gwen he could have, but it would have to do. He knew himself. All these weeks he had been fooling himself into thinking that he would just catch one last glimpse of her and then leave. But now it was time for him to honour that promise to himself. He would fetch his belongings and go, before he could change his mind. He would travel far away and try to make amends for this flaw in his character, this jealousy. Perhaps one day, he would feel strong enough to see Guinivere without having to worry about issues of self control. But until then, new landscapes awaited.

* * *

Not sure about this chapter at all, was Lancelot the least bit in character...? Let me know what you think! :)


	23. A Quai

Author's Note:I had to have at least one song from the soundtrack to "Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amélie Poulain" in this story, because I listen to it pretty much on a daily basis. So, the song of the day is** _A Quai_** by Yann Tiersen.

* * *

Camelot was covered by snow. The white snow hid the black scorch marks everywhere quite well. People were walking in the streets, talking and laughing. Quite a few of them were attempting to hide the bundles they were carrying, but at this time of the year, that wasn't suspicious behaviour at all. There were nice little secrets everywhere, just waiting to be revealed.

In the quarters of the court physician, the sweet smell of spices was spreading in the air. The physician himself was sitting on a bench in the kitchen area, laughing as he watched two young people move around the table.

"Right, so as I said, pour the water into the mixture… No, slowly, Merlin!"

Merlin, who was pouring from a small jug, rolled his eyes at Gwen jokingly.

"What's the difference?" he asked "It's still going to end up in the bowl, just faster."

"Yes, but you have to be able to control how much of it goes in there. Stop! Oh no, look at that - we'll probably have to add more flour to keep the consistency…" Gwen grabbed a wooden spoon and mixed the water into the dough. She sighed as she saw how watery it became.

"Merlin, could you get the flour out again, please?"

When Gwen promised to teach Merlin how to make gingerbread, she had no idea of just how bad a cook he was. He seemed to think that recipes were just a recommendation and he was constantly slowing down the baking process by tasting the dough in its different stages. He had pronounced the simple combination of egg and sugar to be "so delicious that I can't see why you bother with anything more." Then he had proceeded to eat far too much of it.

Merlin opened the bag of flour under Gwen's watchful eye. She picked a fistful of flour from it and let it fall into the bowl.

"And now we stir," she instructed him. "We'll not put more flour into the dough until we're sure we need more."

"Well, how do you know when you need more?" Merlin asked, looking confused. Gwen smiled.

"Look, I'll show you," she promised. "See how the dough isn't sticking to the edge of the bowl anymore? When all of the dough is like that, there is enough flour. Now you try." She let him take over but kept an eye on what he was doing while she cut the butter into pieces.

Gaius was still laughing to himself as he sat and watched. "Thank you for helping Merlin," he said to Gwen. "If you hadn't agreed to do this, I don't know what would have become of my expensive ingredients."

The gingerbread was Gaius' and Merlin's midwinter gift to each other. Gaius had found and bought the ingredients, including nutmeg and cinnamon, and Merlin was supposed to bake. He had wisely chosen to ask for help with that part.

"Good," Gwen said encouragingly. "Now let's add the butter." She dropped the pieces into the bowl and Merlin kneaded them into the rest of the dough.

"That is hard work," he complained when he was done. "My arms actually hurt!"

"Well, they'll get to rest for a while," Gwen said, grinning. "The dough has to be in the cold outside for a while before we can roll it out."

Merlin bent over the dough, breathing in the scent of it. "Mmm," he sighed. "Smells good! We'll have to watch it so no one is tempted to nick it."

They placed the covered bowl on the windowsill and closed the window behind it. Then they sat and chatted for a while. Gaius had heard a lot of talk about the great feast when he was visiting patients, and according to him, everybody had high expectations.

"They've never been invited before. It's understandable that they think kings eat much better than the average citizen, but I just hope they won't be disappointed." He shook his head, looking slightly worried.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Gwen assured him. "People will be happy enough to see the king dine, and they know it's been a rough time. They will settle for what they can get."

"I'm just wondering how Uther is going to cope with all this," Merlin commented. "He isn't exactly used to having lowly peasants eating in the same room with him. Their table manners might come as a shock."

"Well, he was the one who invited everyone to the banquet, I'm sure he knows what he is doing. By the way, unless we want frozen gingerbread, it's time we took the dough inside now." Gwen lifted in the bowl and handed Merlin a rolling pin. She sprinkled some flour on the table and Merlin set to work, wincing slightly.

"My shoulder are really going to hurt after this," he remarked. "I hope the gingerbread is worth this…"

A thought hit Gwen and she looked at the now rolled out dough hesitantly.

"Could I have just a little bit of the dough for myself?" she asked shyly.

"Of course," Merlin said with a grin. "After all, without you there would only be a mess in the kitchen!"

"Thank you," Gwen said and carefully cut off a corner of the dough. She formed it into a ball and grabbed the rolling pin to roll it out again. Then she picked up a knife.

"Now look at what I'm doing," she told Merlin. Carefully she cut off strategic parts until her rolled out gingerbread dough formed a heart.

"And now you can cut out any shapes you like," Gwen told Merlin with a final flourish of the knife. "Well, almost any. If there are really small or thin parts they might not make it into the oven in the right shape."

Merlin took the knife from her and started cutting out figures. In the end, a dragon, a sword, a cat and two hearts made it into the oven. As Merlin, Gwen and Gaius sat eating the unused pieces of the dough, Merlin threw Gwen a look from under his eyelashes.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you make a heart?"

Gwen blushed. "It's going to be my midwinter gift for Arthur. Did you have any reason in particular to make a heart?" she asked teasingly.

Merlin looked away suddenly and Gaius gave him a worried look.

"Oh, it's just a heart in general," Merlin mumbled.

Later that day Gwen left the court physician's quarter cradling a small gingerbread heart. She was already thinking about how she was going to make icing. She would decorate the heart with an A.


	24. Merry Christmas

**Author's Notes:** Finally! I'm done writing this! :D

Today's song is **_Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight) _by The Ramones.** For those who are still online and reading, you'll be getting something a little different tomorrow…

And thanks to Alice I for beta.

* * *

It was finally midwinter in Camelot. People were walking through the snow covered streets, dressed in their finest clothes. There were tanners, farmers, merchants, servants, barmaids, infants carried by their mothers, seamstresses, blacksmiths, bakers… Representatives of every profession and colour were all headed towards the castle, where they were greeted by the prince's manservant, Merlin.

"Hello there, merry midwinter, this way please," he was saying as he directed them towards the banquet hall that was now filled with tables and chairs. It was getting cramped, but it looked like everyone was going to fit in. One of the bigger tables was reserved for the royal family, who hadn't arrived yet.

The king was waiting in his rooms for all the guests to arrive before he took his place. Arthur entered the room without knocking.

"The guards are all informed and alert," he told his father.

"Tonight would be the ideal time for an enemy to attack. Have you organised the rota?" Uther asked.

"Yes. There will at all times be at least twenty men on guard and five ready to jump in at any sign of trouble." Arthur shrugged off his red jacket.

"Good. And the guards in the banquet hall?"

Arthur picked up his crown from the dressing table where it had been waiting for him. "They have orders to gently escort any drunks outside. Anyone acting violently will be thrown into a cell to cool off."

Uther nodded and there was a knock on the door. Merlin put his head in through the door.

"They're ready for you, Sire."

Uther took a deep breath. "Then we'll not let them wait any longer."

He gave Arthur a pat on the shoulder and left the room with his head held high. There was a hush in the banquet hall as the king walked in and went to stand behind his chair. Arthur followed him in and Merlin went to stand behind him. Uther raised a hand.

"People of Camelot! It has been a strange year. Many of us have suffered, and some who should be sitting here with us are missing. But as before, Camelot has endured. I cannot promise you a future without danger or suffering, but what I can promise is that as your king, I will always try my hardest to keep my people safe. Now, let us use the peace wisely and take a moment to enjoy the celebrations. Happy midwinter!"

Uther sat down to smattering of applause, and on cue, the kitchen personnel marched in carrying food and drink. When everyone had been served, the staff sat down at their own table to enjoy the fruits of their hard work together.

The banquet was going well. Uther and Arthur seemed slightly uncomfortable as they were watched by several hundred pairs of eyes, but there were no disturbances and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. The people showed so much kindness as they sat eating, squeezed together. No one complained about the lack of space and screaming babies were calmed down in a communal effort.

Once people were starting to move impatiently in their seats, some servants clapped their hands to silence the crowd. Then they pointed at the midwinter tree under which many small parcels lay.

"Look!" they said, sounding excited. "The elves have brought the children gifts!"

The children rushed to the tree and under the watchful eye of the servants, each child received a present. Any disagreements between siblings were swiftly settled by their parents.

Then some musicians took up their instruments and started playing an improvised melody together. In the general excitement at this, a couple of strong men carried out most of the tables. Husbands, wives and sweethearts took over the floor with their dance.

Uther and Arthur sat and watched this, smiling regally. Suddenly someone tapped Arthur on the shoulder and he turned around in his chair. Merlin was standing behind him, offering him something.

"Here," Merlin said, proudly. "It's your midwinter present. I did it myself."

Arthur accepted the item carefully and took a closer look. It turned out to be a gingerbread dragon.

"Thanks!" Arthur said. "But you know, Merlin, traditionally, the gifts aren't given until tomorrow morning. That's when you're getting yours."

"Yeah?" Merlin said, grinning. "I thought you might be of the impatient type." Then a hand closed around his arm and he was dragged away by a kitchen girl. Arthur laughed as Merlin's surprised face disappeared among the dancing couples.

Arthur heard someone clear their throat behind him.

"Arthur?" He turned around again and saw Gwen standing there, holding something.

"Guinivere."

"I wanted to give you this." She handed him something swaddled in cloth. "Open it later."

"Thank you." He smiled at her as she left and then turned back again. Then he felt his father's eyes on him.

"Arthur, that girl…" Uther began.

"I know, father. Please, can we talk about this later?"

Uther didn't look satisfied but he nodded.  
　

**

The celebrations continued late into the night. Around three o'clock in the morning, Merlin finally made it to his bedchamber. He was about to fall into bed when he noticed a note on his pillow.  
_  
Merlin_, it said in Arthur's handwriting._  
Don_'_t bother getting up before daylight tomorrow morning. My midwinter gift to you is a couple of days off. Happy midwinter.  
A._

Merlin smiled sleepily to himself as he scrabbled to get under the cover. He was going to sleep and sleep and sleep…

* * *

Merry Christmas!


	25. Bloopers

**Author's Notes:** Today's chapter isn't actually a story at all - instead it's a blooper reel, also known as What Happens When Cynic Writer Can't Think Of Anything Useful To Write. It's basically silly stuff that I first wrote down when I couldn't think of what to write next and then deleted. Enjoy!

(You might want to reread chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 18 and 21 for this…)

* * *

[Lancelot's] eyes met Gwen's and he answered her question before she could ask it.

"Gwen, we can never be together. Just think about it - what sort of a life would that be? Always moving, always fighting. You deserve better."

Gwen narrowed her eyes. "Who says I wouldn't like fighting all the time? Look, I've been training!" She carefully put her hands into battle position and the kicked a chair, screaming "Haa-yaaah!"

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[Gwen] unwrapped the object and found it to be a mirror with a heavy wooden frame in the shape of a heart. She looked up at Lancelot who gave her a sad smile.

"Someone as beautiful as you should be able to see their beauty."

Gwen sighed as she put down the present. Then she pointed across the room.

"Look, it was a nice thought, but I already have a mirror, see? I was looking at myself in it while I was waiting for Arthur in episode ten, remember?"

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"Sorry!" [Merlin] exclaimed when he realized he had yet again dropped what he was carrying. "I swear, those stones move under my feet!"

Arthur turned to look at him and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Funny," he remarked. "They never do when _I'm _walking on them..."

"Mmm, it's a mystery," Merlin conceded. "It must be your royal presence."

"Must be. Have you by any chance seen Gwen today?" Arthur said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I think she was going to Morgana's rooms. Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with her being your true love?" Merlin snickered.

Arthur reached for his sword with a calm face. "You had to go and mention that again, didn't you? Well, I'm sorry, but I said I would kill you if you ever did that. It's been interesting. Goodbye!"

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Morgana looked bereft.

"Is there really nothing at all that you can do?"

The man gave her a calculating look.

"Well, ma'm, I suppose I could arrange for some rods of steel to lead the warmth out of the fireplace, but that would only work for so long before it started a fire somewhere. And it would be very costly, ma'm. Seeing as the castle is so very old already, it would really be more cost effective to tear the whole thing down and rebuild it using wood. I have a cousin who does that kind of thing and I bet you could get it done for a very reasonable prize by him. I could talk to him for you if you'd like, ma'm."

Morgana frowned. "Prize? What kind of a prize? Do you mean like a golden cup with a bonnet tied around it?"

The man laughed. "Oh, sorry. No, I meant _price_. It's the stupid writer who can't spell properly."

***delete*delete*delete*delete*delete*delete*delete*delete*delete*delete*delete***

The new peace treaty was Uther's pride and glory. He had worked so very hard for it. He hoped it would be the one thing he was to be remembered by in times to come. It was that, or the good deed he had done after his wife had died by forbidding the use of magic. Well, either of those things would do just fine - as long as he wasn't remembered as the king who married a troll, Uther would be happy.

Thinking about that _thing_ again made him restless. He decided that he would make an exception and practise his shooting. Damn the old war wounds. Today, he would imagine a troll's head in the place of the target.

Several hours later he was still on the practise field. Panicking stable boys were fetching new arrows as fast as they could, because Uther was using up a lot of them and it was not safe to fetch those he had already fired.

"Die! Die! Die! Die, you ugly bitch!" the king screamed as yet another arrow pierced the turnip head of the practise dummy.

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[Merlin is lying in his bed, trying to sleep while the great dragon is harassing him mentally.]

_**MERLIN! I know you can hear me! Come to me!**_

Merlin had had enough. He lifted his head and _thought_ the way he had only done before when Mordred first came to Camelot.

_**Yo, man, can't a warlock get some sleep? The bags under my eyes will be scaring off the ladies soon! Dude, just let it go! I'm not, like, gonna let you out tonight!**_

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"What do you think it was?" Merlin asked him.

Arthur looked up, but didn't have time to answer before the king stormed in and asked the same thing. Arthur got up.

"The mother says it was a wolf, but the paw marks it left were much bigger than those of any I've ever seen. Must be one hell of a wolf."

"You are sure it's _just_ a wolf?"

Arthur hesitated. Then he got a resolute look on his face.

"Look, of course it's not a wolf! When do normal animals ever cause trouble in Camelot? Nah, better just start looking up mythical creatures in books, it's bound to be one of them."

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Merlin was out in the woods surrounding Camelot, picking wood for a seamstress who had fallen ill. Gaius was treating her, but she was all alone with a baby to feed, so she needed all the help she could get.

Just as he was reaching for another snow-covered branch, a voice he recognized called out his name.

"Merlin!"

He spun around and faced his friend.

"Lancelot!"

They both had great big smiles on their faces and they stepped towards each other for a hug. Merlin rubbed his face into Lancelot's hair.

"Mmm," he said. "Are you using a new shampoo?"

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Merlin looked horrified.

"What? Don't people exchange presents at midwinter where you come from?"

"No. Why would they?"

"To celebrate that half the winter has passed and it will be spring again soon, of course!"

"No, we never did that."

"Really? No stockings on the fireplace?"

"Stockings on the fireplace? Why?"

"To put the presents in. And no decorated tree? No songs?"

"What songs would that be?"

" 'Midwinter spirit'?"

"What on earth is that?"

"Really? You don't know it? 'Come, woo me, woo me, for now I am in a holiday humour, and like enough to consent'?"

"Oh yeah?" Lancelot edged closer to Merlin with an intense look on his face. "Can I take that as an invitation?"

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Morgana lifted the trail of her dress and placed it better over the sides of her horse. She gave Uther, who was standing on the stairs watching her, a cold but polite smile.

"I will not be very long," she assured him. "I will definitely be back before nightfall."

"Make sure you are," Uther replied. His tone of voice was also polite but it had an edge to it. He hadn't quite trusted Morgana since she had answered back to him after the incident with the man who had stolen the crystal.

Morgana flicked her hair irritably.

"Look, Uther, you're not my dad and you can't tell me what to do, okay? I'll stay out late if I want to!"

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Arthur was walking along a corridor in his thoughts, when a sound startled him.

"Psst!" someone was whispering loudly from the shadows of a closet.

Cautiously, with a hand on his sword, Arthur edged towards the closet. His eyes hadn't had time to get used to the darkness before two pale hands grabbed his lapels and pulled him into the closet.

"Arthur, my love," the person whispered joyously. "Finally! I thought I would never see you again!" A mouth was pressed against Arthur's and he tried to pull back but the kisser was surprisingly strong. When he was finally allowed to breathe again, Arthur blinked in the darkness. That breathless smile, those blonde locks…

"Merlin, have you dyed your hair?!" he exclaimed.

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Merlin's thoughts were interrupted by a shy cough behind him. He turned around and briefly closed his eyes in horror, because standing there watching him were all the kitchen maids. One of them stepped forward.

"Erm, Merlin, we were wondering… Would you like to escort one of us to the feast?" Several of the girls were twisting strands of their hair around their fingers and smiling nervously.

Merlin groaned. "Look, sweetheart, I know you all find me irresistibly hot, but I'm more than just good looks, okay? Do you _know_ how hard it is for me to find someone who actually cares about my personality?!"

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* * *

…yeaaah…

Anyway, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this, I hope you have a great winter! :D


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